STORY HIGHLIGHTS * NEW: Hawaii plans evacuations; U.S. West Coast, Alaska under tsunami watch * NEW: Quake is 1,000 times stronger than the one in Haiti * NEW: Dozens of aftershocks, one of magnitude 6.9, shake Chile * 78 believed killed; death toll expected to rise (CNN) -- A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake rocked Chile early Saturday, killing at least 78 people and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said she expected the death toll to rise. Numerous aftershocks -- including one of magnitude 6.9 -- were felt within hours of the initial quake, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake's epicenter was located off the coast in Maule, about 200 miles southwest of the capital of Santiago. It struck at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. ET), when most people were sleeping. Jolted out of bed "This is a major event. This happened near some very populated areas," said Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with USGS. "With an 8.8 you expect damage to the population in the area." The earth's rumbling was felt by millions in Chile and in parts of Argentina as well. Some buildings in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, were evacuated. iReport.com: Did you feel it? Share information, images with CNN Bachelet declared areas of catastrophe, similar to a state of emergency that will allow her to rush in aid. She said the town of Chillan -- which was destroyed by a killer quake in 1939 -- was one of the worst affected. Video: Huge quake hits Chile Video: 8.8 quake hits Chile Measuring earthquakes RELATED TOPICS * Chile * Earthquakes * U.S. Geological Survey The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning, the highest level of a tsunami alert, for the entire Pacific region, including Hawaii and places as far away as Russia and Japan. Follow tsunami warning information California and Alaska are under a tsunami advisory. "An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the National Weather Service said in a statement. USGS geophysicist Victor Sardina said several tsunami waves had come ashore along the Chilean coast; the largest was recorded at 9 feet near the quake's epicenter. "I urge people in coastal zones to move to higher ground," Bachelet said at a morning news conference. The earliest estimated arrival for a wave that could affect Hawaii was 12:46 a.m. local time (6:46 p.m. ET). But evacuations of coastal areas were to begin at 6 a.m. (12 p.m. ET). Saturday's quake comes just a few weeks after an earthquake devastated parts of Haiti. That quake was magnitude 7.0. The Chilean quake, at magnitude 8.8, was a thousand times stronger -- an earthquake displaces 64 times more energy for each additional point on the magnitude scale. Check out the world's biggest earthquakes since 1900 The full extent of the damage was not yet known, although … [Read more...]
