A deadly earthquake of magnitude 8.3 struck near the capital city of Santiago on April 16, at 7:54 pm (Local Time).
Tsunami advisories were issued for the entire coastal areas of Chile and the neighbouring country of Peru and even as far away as Hawaii, USA.
Furthermore, the buildings of Santiago were strongly shaken by the quake resulting in the flee of thousands of fearful citizens from their houses onto the streets, causing a huge chaos.
The Chilean government, however, has not announced the detailed report of the casualties yet, because of disruptions in communication in the affected areas.
Initially, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the magnitude of the tremor as 7.9 but updated it to 8.3 soon after.
According to the USGS, the 5 km deep epicentre was located in the coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean, about 228 km north west of Santiago.
The University of Chile estimated the epicentre to be located at 500 km in the north of Santiago, 11 km deep inside.
Powerful tremors were felt as far as the capital of Argentina, 1400 km away from Chile.
At least two strong aftershocks of magnitude 6.0 or greater were reported within few minutes of the occurrence of the quake.
The Chilean government ordered the evacuation of the coastal areas citing the possibility of a tsunami around 11 pm.
Due to its location in the 'Ring of Fire', the high earthquake zone of the Pacific belt, Chile receives strong earthquakes very frequently.
In the year 1960, a megathrust earthquake of magnitude 9.5 hit central Chile and killed more than 5000 of its residents. It received another strong quake of magnitude 8.8 recently, in Feb, 2010.
~~SHAMBHAVI PRIYA
Tsunami advisories were issued for the entire coastal areas of Chile and the neighbouring country of Peru and even as far away as Hawaii, USA.
Furthermore, the buildings of Santiago were strongly shaken by the quake resulting in the flee of thousands of fearful citizens from their houses onto the streets, causing a huge chaos.
The Chilean government, however, has not announced the detailed report of the casualties yet, because of disruptions in communication in the affected areas.
Initially, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the magnitude of the tremor as 7.9 but updated it to 8.3 soon after.
According to the USGS, the 5 km deep epicentre was located in the coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean, about 228 km north west of Santiago.
The University of Chile estimated the epicentre to be located at 500 km in the north of Santiago, 11 km deep inside.
Powerful tremors were felt as far as the capital of Argentina, 1400 km away from Chile.
At least two strong aftershocks of magnitude 6.0 or greater were reported within few minutes of the occurrence of the quake.
The Chilean government ordered the evacuation of the coastal areas citing the possibility of a tsunami around 11 pm.
Due to its location in the 'Ring of Fire', the high earthquake zone of the Pacific belt, Chile receives strong earthquakes very frequently.
In the year 1960, a megathrust earthquake of magnitude 9.5 hit central Chile and killed more than 5000 of its residents. It received another strong quake of magnitude 8.8 recently, in Feb, 2010.
~~SHAMBHAVI PRIYA
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