8.3 quake strikes coast of Chile, sends widespread tsunami warnings

“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, in a prepared statement. “People have to know what happens in an aftershock, what to do, what not to do, how to try and keep calm amid the anxiety it causes”, said Bachelet, according to remarks reported by Cooperativa radio. Twenty others were injured, and one million were evacuated from their homes.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center lifted its tsunami advisory three hours after downgrading from a warning and less than six hours after the waves first hit the islands. Waves reached heights more than 15 feet in the area surrounding Coquimbo Port.

Tsunami advisories were issued for parts of South America, Hawaii, California, French Polynesia and New Zealand. The homes of 610 people were so severely damaged that they were unable to return by late Thursday afternoon, according to government data.

The quake occurred at a shallow depth, and the epicentre was located 228km north of the capital Santiago, a city of 6.6 million people, where there were scenes of pandemonium as thousands fled swaying buildings. Flooding has been reported in some coastal cities.

CNN Chile compiled videos documenting the initial shaking in Santiago Wednesday night. Boats are heading out to sea and people on land are leaving coastal areas for higher ground. Officials later downgraded that to an advisory, saying no major tsunami was expected in the state.

People walk past destroyed surfing schools on the beach after an earthquake-triggered tsunami in Concon, Chile.

In February 2010, an 8.8-magnitude quake off the Chilean coast killed more than 500 people and inflicted an estimated Dollars 30 billion in damages.

The quake had huge ramifications, both political and practical, prompting the Andean nation to improve its alert systems for quakes and tsunamis.

Residents sent running into the street after a magnitude-8.3 natural disaster sit next to an equestrian statue in the main square of Santiago, Chile, September 16, 2015.