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 there were reports of collapsed buildings and hundreds of people in the streets. The ceiling of a parking lot in the fashionable Las Condes neighborhood of Santiago came crashing down, crushing at least 50 cars.
The capital lost electricity and basic services including water and telephones. Bachelet said regional hospitals had suffered damage; some were evacuated. The Santiago airport was shut down and a major bridge connecting northern and southern Chile was rendered inoperable.
Santiago resident Leo Perioto jumped out of bed in his apartment at the top of a six-story building.
“The whole building was shaking,” he said. “The windows were wobbling a lot. We could feel the walls moving from side to side.”
Glass shattered at the Santiago Marriott Hotel, but there appeared to be no structural damage, said Alessandro Perez.
Anita Herrera at the Hotel Kennedy in Santiago said electricity was out and guests were nervous.
“Our hotel is built for this,” she said. “In Chile this happens many times.”
Coastal Chile has a history of deadly earthquakes, according to the USGS. Since 1973, there have been 13 quakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher.
Saturday’s epicenter was just a few miles north of the largest earthquake recorded in the world: a magnitude 9.5 quake in May 1960 that killed 1,655 and unleashed a tsunami that crossed the Pacific.
The earthquake destroyed many roads
A massive earthquake has hit central Chile and killed at least 214 people, the interior minister says.
The 8.8 quake caused widespread damage, destroying buildings, bridges and roads in many areas, including the capital where a chemical plant caught fire.
Electricity, water and phone lines have been cut. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be affected.
Several Pacific countries were hit by waves higher than usual after a tsunami was set off by the quake.
In French Polynesia waves 6ft (1.8m) high swept ashore, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
map
Detailed map of quake
Tsunami spreads through Pacific
In Hawaii, Tahiti and New Zealand, residents in coastal areas have been warned to move to higher ground.
The earthquake struck at 0634 GMT, 115km (70 miles) north-east of the city of Concepcion and 325km south-west of the capital Santiago. It is the biggest to hit Chile in 50 years.
At least 85 people died in the region of Maule alone, local journalists there said.
Many deaths were also in reported in the regions of Santiago, O’Higgins, Biobio, Araucania and Valparaiso.
Television pictures showed a major bridge at Concepcion had collapsed into the Biobio river.
Rescue teams are finding it difficult to reach Concepcion because of damage to infrastructure, national television reported.
Aftershocks
In Santiago, where at least 13 people were killed, several buildings collapsed – including a car park where dozens of cars were smashed.
A fire at a chemical plant in the outskirts of the capital forced the evacuation of the neighbourhood.
POWERFUL EARTHQUAKES
Haiti, 12 Jan 2010: About 230,000 people die after shallow 7.0 magnitude quake
Sumatra, Indonesia, 26 Dec 2004: 9.2 magnitude. Triggers Asian tsunami that kills nearly 250,000 people
Alaska, US, 28 March 1964: 9.2 magnitude; 128 people killed. Anchorage badly damaged
Chile, south of Concepcion, 22 May 1960: 9.5 magnitude. About 1,655 deaths. Tsunami hits Hawaii and Japan
Kamchatka, NE Russia, 4 Nov 1952: 9.0 magnitude
‘Everyone fears aftershocks’
In pictures: Chile quake
Chileans tell of quake terror
Chile well prepared
Damage to Santiago international airport’s terminal will keep it closed for at least 72 hours, officials said. Flights are being diverted to Mendoza in Argentina.
President Michelle Bachelet declared a “state of catastrophe” in affected areas and appealed for calm.
She said: “We’re doing everything we can with all the forces we have.”
Ms Bachelet said a “wave of large proportion” had affected the Juan Fernandez island group, reaching halfway into one inhabited area. Local media say that five people died there and several others are missing.
Two aid ships are reported to be on their way.
One resident of Chillan, 100km from the epicentre, told Chilean television the shaking there lasted about two minutes.
Other residents of Chillan and Curico said communications were down but running water was still available.
Many of Chile’s news websites and radio stations are still not accessible.
In Washington, President Barack Obama said the US had aid resources in position to deploy should the Chilean government ask for help.
Obama says US ready to help Chile
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake struck at a depth of about 35km.
It also recorded at least eight aftershocks, the largest of 6.9 magnitude at 0801 GMT.
The USGS said tsunami effects had been observed at Valparaiso, west of Santiago, with a wave height of 1.69m above normal sea level.
One journalist speaking to Chilean national television from the city of Temuco, 600km south of Santiago, said many people there had left their homes, determined to spend the rest of the night outside. Some people on the streets were in tears.
Chile is highly vulnerable to earthquakes as it is situated on the Pacific “Rim of Fire”, on the edge of the Pacific and South American plates.
Chile suffered the biggest earthquake of the 20th century when a 9.5 magnitude quake struck the city of Valdivia in 1960, killing 1,655 people.
My hopes and prayers are with the families
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