Early details coming in, some say it’s 8.5, others say it’s 8.3. [Update as of midnight Pacific time, now apparently mag. 8.8] Either way, that’s potentially devastating:
SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) – A massive magnitude-8.3 earthquake struck near Concepcion, Chile early on Saturday, USGS reported, shaking buildings and causing blackouts in parts of the capital of Santiago.
A Reuters witness reported shaking buildings and loss of electricity in Santiago.
(Reporting by Alonso Soto and Doina Chiacu)
Reuters is also reporting a “Tsunami warning in effect for Chile and Peru, Tsunami watch for Ecuador”, according to the MSNBC-affiliated Breaking News on Twitter.
More details via the L.A. Times:
SANTIAGO, Chile — A massive magnitude-8.5 earthquake struck near Concepcion, Chile, early Saturday, the USGS reported, shaking buildings and causing blackouts in parts of the capital of Santiago.
A Reuters witness reported shaking buildings and loss of electricity in Santiago, which is north of the epicenter.
The earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of Concepcion at a depth of 34 miles at 3:34 a.m./1:34 EST/0643 GMT. The quake was initially reported at a magnitude of 8.3.
The Reuters witness reported a very strong shaking lasted for 10 to 30 seconds.
“Early reports say the earthquake shook buildings and caused power cuts in the capital, Santiago, 320km from where the quake was centered.” Meanwhile, the BBC adds that as of the time of this early report, “There is no information yet on any casualties.”
The Honolulu Advertiser reports, “Hawaii under tsunami advisory after earthquake off Chile.”
Update 11:58 PM PST: Breaking News on Twitter now reports, “1 dead, many injured and significant damage after massive quake in Chile, magnitude now put at 8.3 by USGS.”
Update 12:10 AM PST 2/27/10: Wow — Breaking News now reports, “The US Geological Survey increases estimated magnitude of #Chile earthquake to 8.8.” (Headline above revised.)
Update: 12:50 AM PST: “Chile President Michelle Bachelet says 6 deaths confirmed so far after quake, much damage — BNO News.”
Update: 1:06 AM PST: The BBC has revised their initial report with these new details:
Buildings in Santiago were reported to have shaken for between 10 and 30 seconds, with the loss of electricity and communications.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake struck at a depth of about 35km.
It said tsunami effects had been observed at Valparaiso, west of Santiago, with a wave height of 1.29m above normal sea level.
One journalist speaking to Chilean national television from the city of Temuco, 600km south of Santiago, said many people there had left their homes, determined to spend the rest of the night outside. Some people on the streets were in tears.
Mark Winstanley, who contacted the BBC from Vina del Mar, 100km north-west of Santiago, said buildings had shaken and electricity and phone connections were cut but he could see no structural damage yet.
A university professor in Santiago, Cristian Bonacic, said that this was a massive quake but that the cities seemed to have resisted well. Internet communications were working but not mobile phones.
Chile suffered the biggest earthquake of the 20th century when a 9.5 magnitude quake struck the city of Valdivia in 1960, killing 1,655 people.
Aftershocks with ratings of 6.2 and 5.4 are reported near the initial earthquake’s epicenter.
UStream has a (Spanish-language) Chilean TV feed streaming here. Another streaming Chilean TV feed here.
Update 1:30 AM PST: “10 deaths [reported] in Chile quake so far, including 1 in Santiago, according television reports in Chile.”
Update 2:08 AM PST: A brief early BBC video report; casualties now at 17 according to local radio; strong aftershocks continue.
CNN includes the quake as one of the ten biggest earthquakes in the world since 1900, and notes that it’s approximately 64 times(!) more powerful than the 7.0 quake that struck Haiti in December.
Update 3:16 AM PST: Found via Tim Blair, the London Times now lists the death toll at 47.
More updates later today. In the interim, follow Breaking News on Twitter, and Google News.
Update 12:14 PM PST: The Wall Street Journal has a collection of photos graphically illustrating the destruction. 500,000 families have been displaced, death toll rises to 147.
Meanwhile, Hawaii is preparing for a tsunami, possibly arriving within the hour. Let’s hope it’s not a repeat of this.
Update 12:39 PM PST: Live streaming video of a Hawaiian NBC/CBS affiliate.
Update: 12:47 PM PST: The first calls declaring the earthquake was caused by global warming go out (via Tim Blair.) As always, life merely imitates Iowahawk.
Update 3:38 PM PST: via Instapundit, “Hawaii ‘Dodged a Bullet.’ Some folks on Twitter seem almost disappointed.”
And speaking of Twitter, here’s your Tweet of the Day.
More news please? no one hurt?!
listening to the live feed in spanish.
communications are sporadic, the government has jumped into immediate action and the entire nation’s first responders, military and law enforcement have been mobilized. some hospitals have been damaged. Chiles region 7 Región del Maule is the most affected region in Chile with the government concerned over highway Ruta 5 which runs in that region and seems to have suffered some sort of catastrophe. the aftershocks are strong and freaking the populace out….
there is a lot of structural damage in the city of Valparaiso. Chile live feed reports
people across the country are out in the streets fearful of the aftershocks and the weather is very cold.
there was a huge national festival going on in Vina del Mar and the government is urging all the “drunks” to stay where they are not drive back to their home towns at this point.
A reporter calling from the Maule region city of Curico says that city center “has collapsed”. no communications (telephone, cel) and no electricity. communicating via radio. bridges have “collapsed” civil authorities are on the streets, things are difficult to “quantify at this moment”.
Chilean government expects deaths to increase.
live feed reporting 47 deaths as of 5:51 am eastern which is 7:51 am Chile time.
schools were to begin/start on Wednesday and they are contemplating postponing that.
there is a report that a tsunami hit an island and a town in Chile as well but that is unconfirmed at this point. “people are said to have fled to the hills to escape the waters which reached halfway into the town.”
Marine Tsunami warnings for East coast of Australia (it’s 10pm Sat. here right now)
http://www.bom.gov.au/tsunami/
also:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/australia-on-tsunami-watch-after-chile-earthquake/story-e6freuz0-1225835111396
Santiago International Airport is being evaluated for structural damages at this point.
4 aftershocks were significant enough to do further damage.
highway ruta 68 between santiago and valparaiso is damaged thus cutting off those two cities from each other.
the president, bachalet, is headed to Chilean Air force group 10 to take a helicopter to overfly the nation shortly.
different government ministers from the cabinet are fanning out to different regions to both assess the damage and to take charge/establish emergency management ops.
there is some heavy damage including a roof collapse to a part of the terminal at Santiago International Airprot and there were injuries and “panic”. they think there is a threat of more “collapse” so it is closed.
flights are being diverted to northern most cities in Chile.
Chilean Navy is reporting that Tsunami threat is over for Chile but that our NOAA has issued multiple tsunami warnings for nations on the pacific rim.
Island of Juan Fernandez was hit by a Tsunami and the Chilean Navy is dispatching a frigate with relief supplies to investigate.
There are confirmed deaths in Vina del Mar. Many of the access routes/highways into that city are collapsed. people trying to leave that city have found that it is “impossible to drive out”. There is a pandemonium at that city’s
govenrment and media are urging everyone to stay where they are for now. the roads have suffered much damage, there is a gasoline scarcity problem, and the authorities need to be able to move around.
64 confirmed deaths being reported as of 6:28am Eastern.
above should read: There is pandemonium at that city’s bus station as many are trying to get back home.
In the city of Talca all the “old” historic homes located in the city center have collapsed.
they expect that there are many buried underneath the rubble of these homes there are people/authorities searching for victims.
Talca Hospital evacuated.
Basic services Gas, electricity, phone, cel, is cut.
The reporter in Talca says that they (Chile) knowing that a their nation is seismically active have been preparing for and expecting a huge earthquake for 3 years.
A number of the reported dead so far have been heart attack victims.
The Biobio region and the city of Concepcion are believed to have suffered massive damage. Communications are wretched.
78 dead. – says Chilean Prez. (still preliminary)
Chilean Prez- they are expecting “incoming high waves and low lying coastal areas are being evacuated”. although not tsunami.
they are worried about Easter Island. have not heard from them.
Chilean Prez – “have not asked for any foreign help” “they have what they need at the moment, if they decide later that they need outside help they’ll of course ask for it” but “they are doing ok for now”.
She may be a “socialist” but I’m very impressed with this outgoing Chilean Prez. wow. she is good.
“Zone of Catastrophe” is bein declared from the 5th to the 9th regions of Chile which will allow the government emergency powers (allows them to bypass the bureaucracy”)
Prison of Manzano is rioting.
Santiago International Airport is closed to all flights for at least the next 24 hours. Some flights being diverted to Mendoza in the north.
Highway to the “south” near Angostura at Km 49. is severely damaged and impassable the country is effectively cut in half.
Massive damage in city of Concepcion being confirmed by reporter on scene.
new 1 year old 15 story residential building in Concepcion collapses.
at least 10 very strong aftershocks felt in Concepcion says reporter on scene.
Concepcion seriously damaged multiple fires, bridges, residential buildings collpsed…
Manzano Prison in Concepcion “on fire”. no firefighters or security were present on the scene outside earlier when reporter had to flee “hostile” relatives of inmates.
Rail service across the country is suspended due to infrastructure damage. “but there will be further evaluations and more info forthcoming”
unconfirmed reports that Tsunanmi approaching Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
at least 2 million without power in Santiago metro area.
Prayers for all in Chile, a nation of hardworking honest people, and a staunch US ally.
insomniac signing off for a while.
The Richter scale increases exponentially. So at 8.8, this earthquake is about 100 times stronger than the one that devastated Haiti. Of course, Chileans are used to having the ground shake, and are much better prepared than the Haitians were. But still, nobody can fully prepare for a quake of this magnitude. May God protect all my countrymen back home.
Clearly a result of global warming
Very funny Jay! But some halfwit will undoubtedly make this claim. (Probably Barbara Boxer!)
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 times as powerful as Haiti.
Real events such as this one show why it is so desperately necessary to stop expending resources – and worse, to have to stop creating resources – because of scams like AGW, the Community Reinvestment Act, and the latest spate of creative lawsuits over race or spilled coffee.
We have had the earthquake in Haiti, now this one in Chile, and even places such as Oklahoma have been having earthquakes over the last several months. Unfortunately for those who see AGW as a means to an end for their “just and sustainable” vision of the future, real natural disasters such as earthquakes, blizzards, and hurricanes argue for more robust technology, not less. 4X4 vehicles, aircraft carriers, helicopters, jet transports, heavy construction equipment, and large numbers of highly trained military personnel are vital necessities.
We don’t have the time or the luxury to worry about some stupid carbon footprint idea. Want to help Haiti? Want to help Chile? Want to help the next New Orleans? Want to get ready for the next Big One in California or the next tsunami in the Pacfic? Drill for oil. Build Hum-Vs, C-17’s and aircraft carriers. Increase the size of the military.
Oh, and put the AGW scammers in jail.
This is not merely a disaster for Chile – the entire Pacific from Australia to Japan to Alaska will be hit (if it hasn’t been already) by a powerful tsunami.
Here in La Serena(500km North Santiago) I felt the quake, moved quite a bit….though aside from some power cuts this morning it doesn’t seem to have caused any damage or injuries.
Even though it’s in spanish…here’s a good link for info.
http://www.emol.com
Hugo Chavez will say this is just another attack by America’s earthquake weapon.
After seeing some of the damage done in the country it’s surprising the death toll isn’t much higher.
Another one blaming it on “global warming”:
“An 8.8 earthquake hit #Chile. I really hope people start to realise Global Warming or something is finally upon us bad and we need it fixed!”
http://twitter.com/camillabraine/statuses/9750411050
“OMGGG what is wrong with the world, another dissater? Earthquake in Chili…GLOBAL WARMING IS KILLING PEOPLE. Maybe 2012 is true,I’m scrared”
http://twitter.com/tiffane3/statuses/9749982442
Does anyone know if the highway 68 from santiago to valparaiso is passable?
Pebsy:
This article (in Spanish)states that highway 68 is open, though the authorities are discouraging people from driving anywhere for now, as there’s still a chance there may be undiscovered structural faults.
http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/5/20100227/twl-cortadas-las-principales-carreteras-f6923c3.html
There are many people that I care about in the Vina Del Mar and La Serena areas. Is there any possible way that I can find out if they are alright? I have been out of touch with them for some time.