8.3 magnitude quake strikes Chile

An 8.3 magnitude quake struck off the central Chilean coast on Wednesday night.

“We are grateful to report that all missionaries in the area near the quake in Chile are accounted for and safe”, said Eric Hawkins, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The US Geological Survey has said that the quake struck 55km off the coast near Illapil at 7.54pm local time, at a depth of approximately 10km.

Chile’s ministry of the interior and public security said 20 people have been injured, but phone networks remain down in parts of the country so the full extent of damage and injury is not yet known.

Over 1 million residents on Chile’s 2,653 mile coastline have been evacuated due to tsunami warnings. Waves reached heights more than 15 feet in the area surrounding Coquimbo Port.

The University offers a program through GW in Santiago where students take classes at the University of Chile.

Smaller waves could hit some coasts of Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, and as far as Japan, the tsunami warning center said. Buildings shook in Santiago, and houses collapsed and power was knocked out in the coastal town of Illapel, near the epicenter of the quake. The island was under a tsunami watch Wednesday afternoon following the quake.

In April previous year , a deadly 8.2-magnitude natural disaster in northern Chile killed six people and forced a million to leave their homes in the region around Iquique.

Seismologists said Chile’s heavy investment in structural reinforcement of buildings and constant refinement of its tsunami alert system helped prevent what would have been a catastrophe in less prepared nations.

State copper miner Codelco said that it had evacuated workers from its Ventanas smelter but all its other divisions were operating normally.

Officials warned people to stay away from the ocean through the afternoon, because tsunamis create unsafe currents and changes in water levels that last 6 to 8 hours after the initial swell.