Chile has been shaken by a midnight (06:34 GMT) earthquake that measured 8.8 on the Richter scale, say geologists in the US and China, who have upgraded their measurements of it. The earthquake was 1,000 times more powerful than the one that struck Haiti in January, experts said on CNN. The quake hit central Chile, 100km north of the city of Concepcion, and 350 from Santiago, the capital. The Chinese Earthquake Administration says it occurred at and “the epicenter was 35.8 degrees south latitude and 72.7 degrees west longitude, with a depth of 33 kilometers.” Sixty-four people are reported dead but numbers are expected to rise.
The airport in Santiago, which was was shaken for 90 minutes, is closed until further notice and according to the BBC, “Tsunami warnings have been issued for Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island nations. Alerts were also earlier issued for Antarctica and Central America.”
Reuters updates and background
Links to other sites: BBC, New York Times, Sydney Morning Herald, Xinhua
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News story, GenevaLunch, 27 February 2010.
Filed under: World news
Tags: 8.8, Chile, Concepcion, earthquake, Pacific, Richter scale, Santiago, tsunami