8.2 earthquake off chili

[BabaRa]

APRIL 2014 – CHILE - A powerful magnitude-8.2 earthquake struck off Chile’s northern coast Tuesday night, and officials ordered an evacuation of coastal areas before an expected tsunami. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the tremor, which also shook buildings in parts of nearby Peru and Bolivia. The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the quake at 8.0, but later upgraded the magnitude. It said the quake struck 61 miles (99 kilometers) northwest of the Chilean city of Iquique at 8:46 p.m., hitting a region that has been rocked by numerous quakes over the past two weeks. Waves measuring almost 2 meters (6 ½ feet) already were striking cities on the coast, and authorities said a tsunami was expected to come ashore later.

Below are witness reports:

1) Witness location : Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Bolivia) (458 km NE from epicenter)
It seemed ground barely swinging North - South

2) Witness location : Las Condes (Chile) (1517 km S from epicenter)
Lying on the floor and felt it wobble and the building was swaying and the doors swinging slightly!

3) The lamps moved around. We are 1500 km from epicenter

[modwiz]

The witness reports indicate mild activity where they were located. A very good thing for them.

[Altaira]

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d8PpzCd6O0

[Sooz]

URGENT!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87UqIbCVoLc


Tsunami alert for West Coast, USA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87UqIbCVoLc

[BabaRa]

A powerful magnitude-8.2 earthquake struck off Chile's northern coast Tuesday night, causing landslides and setting off a small tsunami that forced an evacuation of coastal areas. Chilean authorities reported six dead and three people seriously injured in the country's north, according to Reuters.

Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or were killed by heart attacks.

The government evacuated Chile's northern coast and President Michelle Bachelet declared the area a disaster zone, promising troops and police reinforcements to maintain public order while damage was repaired after landslides blocked roads.

Lauding Chile's initial response to the quake, Bachelet said in a televised address: "The government will work for as long as necessary to confront this emergency."

In the city of Arica, the mayor reported some minor injuries and said some homes made of adobe were destroyed. The quake shook modern buildings in nearby Peru and in Bolivia's capital, La Paz.

About 300 prisoners took advantage of the emergency and escaped from a female penitentiary in Iquique. About 26 of the women were soon recaptured, authorities said, while security forces fanned out through the area amid reports of power outages.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake struck 61 miles northwest of the city of Iquique at 8:46 p.m. local time (7:46 p.m. EDT), hitting a region that has been rocked by numerous quakes over the past two weeks.

The quake was so strong that the shaking experienced in Bolivia's capital, about 290 miles away, was the equivalent of a magnitude-4.5 tremor, authorities there said.

Nearly 60 aftershocks have followed the initial quake, including a magnitude-6.2 tremor. More aftershocks and even a larger quake could not be ruled out, said seismologist Mario Pardo at the University of Chile.

Some roads in northern Chile were blocked by landslides, causing traffic jams among people leaving the coast.

Coastal residents of northern Chile evacuated calmly as waves measuring more than 6 feet struck their cities ahead of a tsunami that was expected to come ashore later.

Evacuations also were ordered in Peru, where waves 6 feet above normal forced about 200 people to leave the seaside town of Boca del Rio. But there were no injuries or major damage, said Col. Enrique Blanco, the regional police chief in Tacna, a Peruvian city of 300,000 near the Chilean border. "The lights went out briefly, but were re-established," Blanco said.