More than one million people have been evacuated in Chile after an 8.3-magnitude earthquake hit the country’s central region.
At least five people died when the quake hit at 19:54 local time.
A tsunami alert was originally issued for the entire Chilean coast but has been partly lifted since.
Chile’s deputy interior minister said it was the sixth most powerful quake to hit the country. Seismologists have reported dozens of aftershocks.
Three people died of heart attacks and another two were crushed by falling walls and masonry, officials said.
A local mayor reported a sixth victim, a 19-year-old who was crushed to death in the town of Monte Patria, although this has not been confirmed.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake struck off the coast of Chile’s Coquimbo region, 29 miles west of the city of Illapel.
The USGS said it was at a depth of 16 miles, while Chilean seismologists calculated its depth at 7 miles.
Residents of Illapel fled into the streets in terror, local media reported.
Photo AP
People in coastal areas sought shelter on higher ground while those in cities sought safety in the streets.
The earthquake caused buildings to sway in cities as far away as the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
The tremor struck as thousands of Chileans were travelling to the coast ahead of a week of celebrations for Independence Day.
The authorities were quick to issue tsunami alerts keen to avert a repeat of the slow response to the 8.8-magnitude quake in 2010, which devastated large areas of Chile.
More than 500 people died in the quake and the tsunami it triggered and memories of the tragedy are still raw.
Tsunami alerts were issued shortly after the earthquake struck for the entire Chilean coast as well as Peru, Hawaii, parts of California and as far away as New Zealand.
They remain in effect in some of the worst affected areas, but have been lifted in those further away from the quake’s epicenter.
President Michelle Bachelet said that “once again we must confront a powerful blow from nature”.
The president will travel to the affected areas on September 17.
Officials said 1,800 people in the worst hit town of Illapel were left without drinking water.
Electricity providers said hundreds of thousands of their clients had no power.
Chile is one of the most seismically active locations on the globe.
It runs along the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates.
A second 7.6-magnitude earthquake has rocked northern Chile, just over 24 hours after an 8.2 tremor killed six people, destroyed 2,600 houses and led to mass evacuations.
A tsunami alert in Chile and Peru was again issued, but was later lifted after waves of 2.4ft hit coastal areas.
Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet was among those evacuated on Thursday.
The quake is the strongest of several aftershocks following Tuesday’s tremor.
There have been no reports of damage from the latest quake.
The aftershock caused buildings to wobble and people to run into the streets in the port of Iquique, which was one of the cities hit by Tuesday night’s quake.
The latest quake was centered 14 miles south of Iquique.
A second 7.6-magnitude earthquake has rocked northern Chile, just over 24 hours after an 8.2 tremor killed six people, destroyed 2,600 houses and led to mass evacuations (photo AFP)
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the aftershock had a depth of 12 miles and was felt across the border in southern Peru, where people in the cities of Tacna and Arequipa also fled buildings.
President Michelle Bachelet had earlier praised the “calm behavior” of residents following Tuesday evening’s quake.
Nearly a million people were evacuated across the country after the authorities issued a tsunami warning.
“I think you have shown us all a tremendous example,” Michelle Bachelet said during a visit to the worst affected areas.
Michelle Bachelet declared northern provinces – Arica and Parinacota, and Tarapaca – disaster areas.
Tuesday’s quake struck at 20:46 local time 52 miles north-west of the city of Iquique, a mining area,
“We are here to recognize the calm behavior of the people of Iquique, who showed great civic responsibility, as did those of Arica,” said Michelle Bachelet.
Fires destroyed some businesses in the area and fishermen found their boats sunken and damaged in Iquique harbor.
Michelle Bachelet called on residents to “work together now” to repair the damage caused by the quake.
Waves of up to 6ft hit some areas.
Some 40,000 people in Tarapaca remain without power, said Ricardo Toro of Chile’s National Emergency Office (Onemi).
Hours after the first major earthquake, Chile’s army was deployed to Iquique after 293 inmates escaped from a women’s jail.
Ricardo Toro said that 131 had now returned voluntarily.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
Chile has deployed military forces to the northern city of Iquique after more than 300 inmates escaped from a women’s jail following last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake.
Officials said about 26 had so far been captured since the quake at 20:46 local time on Tuesday.
Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet has declared disaster areas in the northern regions of Arica and Parinacota and Tarapaca, and will visit them later.
At least six people are known to have died and tens of thousands evacuated.
There have been power cuts, fires and landslides as dozens of aftershocks – including a 6.2 tremor – continued through the night.
Chile has deployed military forces to the northern city of Iquique after more than 300 inmates escaped from a women’s jail following last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake
But although waves of up to about 6ft hit some areas tsunami warnings in several areas have now been lifted.
It was not clear exactly how the women inmates escaped from the prison in Iquique.
But Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo said a military plane of 100 anti-riot police was being flown to work alongside 300 soldiers already operating in the city.
They will be tracking down the prisoners as well as preventing “looting and disorder”, Chilean authorities said.
The quake struck about 52 miles north-west of Iquique, a mining area.
The tremors set off landslides that blocked roads, hit power supplies, damaged a number of homes and caused fires in some businesses.
Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.
Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those who died, several people had been seriously injured.
The tsunami alert sent tens of thousands fleeing coastal areas of Chile. Television pictures showed traffic jams as people tried to head for safer areas.
Three of the Chilean northern regions have been declared disaster areas after being hit by last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake.
At least five people are known to have died and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.
The quake struck at 20:46 local time about 52 miles north-west of the mining area of Iquique, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Waves of up to 6ft have hit some areas and there have been power cuts, fires and landslides.
The government said the declaration of a disaster in the Arica, Parinacota and Tarapaca regions was aimed at “avoiding instances of looting and disorder”.
Three of the Chilean northern regions have been declared disaster areas after being hit by last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake
President Michelle Bachelet said Chile had “faced the emergency well” and called on those in affected regions “to keep calm and follow instructions from the authorities”.
She is due to visit the affected areas later.
Chilean TV broadcast pictures of traffic jams as people tried to leave the affected areas.
Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.
Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those killed, several people had been seriously injured.
While the government said it had no reports of significant damage to coastal areas, a number of homes were reported destroyed in Arica.
Northern Chile has been hit by an 8.2-magnitude earthquake, triggering a tsunami alert and killing at least five people.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck at 20:46 local time about 52 miles north-west of the mining area of Iquique.
Waves of up to 6ft have hit some areas in Chile, and there have been power cuts, fires and landslides.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated in affected areas, where a state of emergency has been declared.
Chilean TV broadcast pictures of traffic jams as people tried to leave.
Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.
Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those killed, several people had been seriously injured.
While the government said it had no reports of significant damage to coastal areas, a number of adobe homes were reported destroyed in Arica.
Chile has been hit by an 8.2-magnitude earthquake, triggering a tsunami alert and killing at least five people (photo ABC News)
Further damage may not be known until dawn. The tsunami warning in Chile will last at least until 05:00 local time.
The quake shook modern buildings in Peru and in Bolivia’s high altitude capital of La Paz – more than 290 miles from Iquique.
At least eight strong aftershocks followed in the few hours after the quake, including a 6.2 tremor.
Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo told Chilean TV that some 300 women inmates had escaped from a prison in Iquique. The authorities are reported to have deployed a planeload of special forces to guard against looting.
He said President Michelle Bachelet was being kept informed. She is to travel to the affected area.
“We have taken action to ensure public order in the case of Iquique, where we’ve had a massive escape of more than 300 female prisoners, so that the armed forces and police can coordinate and provide security to the residents,” Rodrigo Penailillo said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (TWC) issued an initial warning for Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.
However, all warnings, watches and alerts were later lifted except for Chile and Peru.
Tsunami watches – in which the danger of tidal waves is deemed to be less serious – had been in place for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras.
“Everyone along our coast should be alert and ready,” Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said on Twitter.
Ecuador later reduced its alert but maintained a high level of vigilance for the Galapagos Islands.
High waves hit parts of the Chilean coast within 45 minutes of the quake. Pisagua, Patache and Iquique all saw big waves.
“We have asked citizens to evacuate the entire coast,” Chilean home office minister Mahmud Aleuy said.
Evacuations were also ordered in Peru, where waves 6.5ft above normal forced about 200 people to leave the seaside town of Boca del Rio near the Chilean border, police said.
The area close to the epicentre is mineral rich, but none of the major copper companies reported any break in production.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
A major earthquake with an initial magnitude of 8.9 has hit under the sea off Indonesia’s northern Aceh province.
The quake triggered a tsunami warning across the Indian Ocean region.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was not yet known whether a tsunami had been generated, but advised authorities to “take appropriate action”.
The region is regularly hit by earthquakes. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed 170,000 people in Aceh.
A major earthquake with an initial magnitude of 8.9 has hit under the sea off Indonesia's northern Aceh province
The US Geological Survey, which documents quakes worldwide, said the Aceh quake was centred 33 km (20 miles) under the sea about 495 km from Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.
The tsunami centre’s warning said quakes of such a magnitude “have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean basin”.
Reuters reports that people in the region were making their way to higher ground.
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines on late Monday morning killing at least 13 people, official reports say.
The death toll includes at least two children, according to the government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The quake hit 70 km north of Dumaguete city on Negros island at 11.49 (03.49 GMT) at a depth of 20 km, according to the US Geological Survey.
Two aftershocks with a magnitude of 4.8 and 5.6 followed.
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the central Philippines on late Monday morning killing at least 13 people
Dozens of people have also been reported as still missing. Search and rescue operations are currently ongoing in areas where houses and buildings had collapsed due to landslides.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a tsunami alert for the area, but had lifted it by 14.30.
The late morning quake in the Negros and Cebu region had caused panic in nearby cities, with people rushing out of schools, malls and offices. Officials in some areas suspended work and cancelled classes.
A child was reportedly crushed to death by a collapsed wall in Tayasan town in Negros, Benito Ramos, NDRRMC chief told reporters.
Buildings in the cities of Cebu and San Carlos shook violently and sustained damages such as broken windows and cracks on the walls, he added.
The Philippines is located in the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. A 7.7-magnitude quake killed nearly 2,000 people in Luzon in 1990.
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