An 8.3 magnitude earthquake occurred on 16th August, 07:54 pm (Local time) in the vicinity of Santiago, the capital city of Chile.
Due to this earthquake, Tsunami warning has been issued in the whole coastal region of Chile and also in neighbouring Peru. A tsunami advice was also issued in Hawaii, USA.
Also, buildings in downtown Santiago experienced strong quake, causing fear among the residents; thousands flee to open space and there was huge commotion of evacuation.
Due to highly unstable communication, till now, the toll of death, injured and definite extent of damage cannot be ascertained, said the Chile Government.
According to the US Geological Survey, initially the earthquake was a 7.9 on the Richter scale which quickly rose to 8.3. The USGS traced the epicentre to north-west of Santiago, 228 km off the Pacific Coast, at a depth of 5 km below surface.
Chile University presumes the epicentre to be 500 km North of Santiago, originating at a depth of 11 km below surface.
Strong tremors were also felt in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, which lies 1400 km from Chile.
Minutes after the main big quake, abnormally strong aftershock, about 2 in number, each measuring 6.0 Richter scale were also reported.
Chile Government issued evacuation orders to residents of the coastal areas, as it was predicted that seismic tsunami will hit the country's shore by 11 pm tonight.
Chile belong to the circum-Pacific earthquake region, also known as the 'Ring of fire', where strong earthquakes usually occur. In the past, in 1920, a strong earthquake measuring 9.5 Richter scale killed 5000 people. Recently, in February 2010, an earthquake of 8.8 Richter scale hit Chile really hard.
Due to this earthquake, Tsunami warning has been issued in the whole coastal region of Chile and also in neighbouring Peru. A tsunami advice was also issued in Hawaii, USA.
Also, buildings in downtown Santiago experienced strong quake, causing fear among the residents; thousands flee to open space and there was huge commotion of evacuation.
Due to highly unstable communication, till now, the toll of death, injured and definite extent of damage cannot be ascertained, said the Chile Government.
According to the US Geological Survey, initially the earthquake was a 7.9 on the Richter scale which quickly rose to 8.3. The USGS traced the epicentre to north-west of Santiago, 228 km off the Pacific Coast, at a depth of 5 km below surface.
Chile University presumes the epicentre to be 500 km North of Santiago, originating at a depth of 11 km below surface.
Strong tremors were also felt in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, which lies 1400 km from Chile.
Minutes after the main big quake, abnormally strong aftershock, about 2 in number, each measuring 6.0 Richter scale were also reported.
Chile Government issued evacuation orders to residents of the coastal areas, as it was predicted that seismic tsunami will hit the country's shore by 11 pm tonight.
Chile belong to the circum-Pacific earthquake region, also known as the 'Ring of fire', where strong earthquakes usually occur. In the past, in 1920, a strong earthquake measuring 9.5 Richter scale killed 5000 people. Recently, in February 2010, an earthquake of 8.8 Richter scale hit Chile really hard.
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