A Massive 8.3-Magnitude Earthquake Hits The Central Coast Of Chile; Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Alerts The Public For Possible Tsunami
On Wednesday, the buildings in Chile's capital Santiago swayed as a huge tremor with a magnitude of 8.3 shook the country near the central coast. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center alerted the people to take caution as "widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible."
NBC News noted on Wednesday the tremor was said to be the largest earthquake that ever hit the area in more than a century leaving three fatalities as reported by the Chilean officials - a 20-year-old man, a 39-year-old woman and an 86-year-old who died of heart attack.
According to Space iO9 on Wednesday, the earthquake was felt at 7:54 p.m. local time for approximately one minute and was considerably shallow for a massive tremor with a depth of 12.3 kilometers. The epicenter was found to be at 46 kilometers west of Illapel, Chile and the earthquake was 228 kilometers north to northwest of Santiago.
Several strong aftershocks measuring between 6.3 and 5.7 were reportedly felt by the public just minutes after the 8.3 tremor.
BBC News noted on Thursday the mayor of Illapel Denis Cortes reported one individual died due to a collapsing wall, while 15 others suffered from injuries.
"Tsunami waves reaching more than three meters above the tide level are possible along some coasts of Chile," warned the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Tsunami sirens were even reportedly heard in Valparaiso's port. The 8.3 magnitude earthquake also caused 15-foot waves along the coast of Coquimbo where infrastructure damages were also reported. Tsunami alerts are now raised in the region, as well as in Hawaii, Peru, some parts of California and even as far as New Zealand.
The massive earthquake was greatly felt in the Argentine province Mendoza and several buildings in Buenos Aires were evacuated.
Chile is situated between the tectonic plates of Nazca and South America making it the most seismically active regions in the world. A death toll of 500 people was reported in the country during the 8.8 magnitude earthquake off central Chile in February 2010.
