Chile earthquake: 8.

3-magnitude quake
strikes off coast

By Catherine E. Shoichet and Rafael Romo, CNN

Updated 12:40 PM ET, Thu September 17, 2015 | Video Source: CNN

Police say a woman was killed in the quake and at least seven people were

injured

There are some reports of damage to homes, Chile's interior minister says

Coastal evacuations begin as the threat of a tsunami looms

For more on the Chile earthquake, go to CNNEspanol.com.
(CNN)[Breaking news alert, posted at 12:13 a.m. ET Thursday]
At least five people were killed and 1 million evacuated from affected areas, when a
powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck Chile Wednesday, the director of the National

Office of Emergency for the Chilean Ministry of Interior, Ricardo Toro, announced at a
Santiago news conference early Thursday morning.
Chile earthquake: Disaster planning pays off
[Breaking news alert, posted at 10:53 p.m. ET Wednesday]
At least three people were killed when a powerful earthquake struck Chile on
Wednesday, President Michelle Bachelet said. The victims included a 35-year-old
woman who was killed by a falling roof, a 20-year-old woman who was killed by falling
rocks and a man in his 80s who had a heart attack, Bachelet said.
[Previous story, posted at 10:24 p.m. ET Wednesday]
A powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Chile's coast on Wednesday, triggering
a tsunami alert and coastal evacuations.
A woman was killed in the city of Illapel, Chilean National Police spokesman Oscar
Llanten told CNN sister network CNN Chile. At least seven people were injured in the
quake, he said, three of whom are in serious condition.
There were also reports of damages to homes in Illapel, Interior Minister Jorge Burgos
told reporters.
According to a preliminary assessment from the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake's
epicenter was about 54 kilometers (34 miles) west of Illapel. It occurred around 7:54
p.m. (6:54 p.m. ET) and had a depth of 33 kilometers (20.5 miles), USGS said.
Chile's national emergency agency issued a tsunami alert, ordering evacuations in
coastal areas from Arica to Puerto Aysen.

Flooding, power loss

Large tsunami waves have been observed along the Chilean coast, near the quake's
epicenter. In Coquimbo, Chile, a wave was measured at more than 15 feet, according to
the U.S. National Tsunami Warning center.
Pictures taken inside a shopping mall in La Serena, in the coastal city just north of
Coquimbo, showed walls and signs toppled to the floor, ceiling tiles caved in as well as
chairs, benches and tables covered in rubble.

Coquimbo Mayor Cristian Galleguillos told CNN Chile the city was starting to see
flooding and 95% of the city had lost electrical power. Residents had evacuated before
waves started hitting the coastline, he said.
At least 12 aftershocks of magnitude 4.9 or higher rattled residents in the area around
the first quake's epicenter within less than two hours, according to USGS.
A series of aftershocks could be felt in the country's capital, about 230 kilometers (145
miles) away from the quake's epicenter, CNN Chile reported.
"Everybody ran outside. The windows rattled. Things fell. ... The impact was strong,"
said Emily Hersh, who lives in Santiago. "Even after I stepped outside, I felt the ground
moving."
Fabrizio Guzman, emergency communications manager in Chile for World Vision, said
the the earthquake hit during rush hour, causing traffic snarls that left many people stuck
in the streets as they tried to get home.
"There were many people afraid, running in the streets, when the shaking started," he
said in a written statement. "The earthquake felt really intense and seemed to last for
several minutes."

Tsunami watch
"Widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible" along the coast of Chile and
Peru, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, and a tsunami watch is in effect for
Hawaii.
A tsunami watch is issued "to alert emergency management officials and the public of
an event which may later impact the watch area," the center says. A warning is issued
when a "potential tsunami with significant widespread inundation is imminent or
expected."
Even New Zealand, which is some 6,000 miles away from the quake's epicenter, is on
guard for possible tsunami waves.
The country has issued a tsunami warning. Shane Bayley of New Zealand's Ministry of
Civil Defence and Emergency Management told CNN strong tidal currents and large
waves are expected in some areas.

'Ring of Fire'

Chile is in one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world.

The country sits on an arc of volcanoes and fault lines circling the Pacific Ocean known
as the "Ring of Fire." The area experiences frequent earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions.
Since 1973, Chile has had more than a dozen quakes of magnitude-7.0 and above.