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Chile Coast Evacuated After 8.3 Earthquake Strikes Chile Earthquake Strikes Coast, Forcing Residents to Evacuate
(34 minutes later)
SANTIAGO, Chile — A strong 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Chile’s coast on Wednesday, shaking buildings in cities around the country and forcing the authorities to evacuate residents along the 2,690-mile coast after tsunami warnings were issued. At least two people were reported killed. SANTIAGO, Chile — A strong 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Chile’s coast on Wednesday, shaking buildings in cities around the country and forcing the authorities to evacuate residents along the 2,690-mile coast after tsunami warnings were issued. At least three people were reported killed.
The quake hit at 7:54 p.m. west of Illapel, about 177 miles north of the capital, Santiago, and was felt as far away as São Paulo in Brazil, more than 2,100 miles away. The quake hit at 7:54 p.m. west of Illapel, about 177 miles north of the capital, Santiago, and was felt in São Paulo, Brazil, more than 2,100 miles away.
Chile’s national emergency service ordered the immediate evacuation of the coast, as well as Easter Island and the archipelago of Juan Fernández. Chile’s national emergency service ordered the immediate evacuation of the coast, as well as Easter Island and the archipelago Juan Fernández. President Michelle Bachelet appeared on national television, telling citizens that her government was closely examining the damage.
People were evacuating to higher ground in vehicles and on foot in relative calm, as waves began flooding parts of some cities with differing intensity. Waves reached as high as 15 feet in the city of Coquimbo, a port city 285 miles north of Santiago. The flooding spread to much of the city, causing extensive damage, said the city’s mayor, Cristián Galleguillos. “Once again we have to confront a tough blow from nature,” Ms. Bachelet said, evoking her nation’s history of quakes.
At least one person was killed in Illapel after a wall fell on him in a restaurant, the city’s mayor, Denis Cortés, said on national television. Illapel, with a population of 31,000, was without electricity and the rupture of the water matrix left some neighborhoods without the service, Mr. Cortés said. People evacuated to higher ground in vehicles and on foot in relative calm in parts of the country, as waves began flooding parts of some cities with differing intensity. Waves reached as high as 15 feet in Coquimbo, a port city 285 miles north of Santiago. The flooding spread to much of the city, causing extensive damage, said the city’s mayor, Cristián Galleguillos.
Another death was reported in Coquimbo, while one person was reported missing in Tongoy after his pickup truck fell into the sea, according to a police report. Flooding in Tongoy, a town 225 miles north of Santiago, reached downtown and destroyed a preschool, a police station and a section of a health clinic, the authorities said. At least one person was killed in Illapel after a wall fell on him in a restaurant, the city’s mayor, Denis Cortés, said on national television. Another death was reported in Coquimbo, while one person was reported missing in Tongoy after his pickup truck fell into the sea, according to a police report. Flooding in Tongoy, a town 225 miles north of Santiago, reached downtown and destroyed a preschool, a police station and a section of a health clinic, the authorities said.
In Monte Patria in northern Chile, a woman, 20, was reported killed after being crushed by rocks that fell on her house.
Adobe homes and infrastructure in towns and rural areas, especially in northern Chile, were seriously damaged, evoking the havoc caused by an 8.2-magnitude earthquake last year.Adobe homes and infrastructure in towns and rural areas, especially in northern Chile, were seriously damaged, evoking the havoc caused by an 8.2-magnitude earthquake last year.
Classes were suspended in dozens of schools in the capital and other areas. Chile ranks among the countries that are most vulnerable to earthquakes and has painful memories of a 2010 quake in southern Chile that killed 525 people, many of them in a tsunami in the south-central part of the country.
The country has painful memories of a 2010 earthquake in southern Chile that killed 525 people, many of them in a tsunami in the south-central part of the country. Tsunami warnings were issued as far away as California and New Zealand.
Chile ranks among the countries that are most vulnerable to earthquakes. The magnitude-8.8 quake in 2010 was one of the largest ever recorded by a seismograph.