Hawaii, Calif. See Tidal Surges Following Chile Quake

People in Coquimbo, Chile, recover items from destroyed houses next to a ship dragged by the waves after a powerful quake .

The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 7.9 but quickly revised the reading upward to 8.3.

“We’re just getting started with removing the mud and the rubble”, said Maria Gonzalez, whose fish and seafood restaurant in Coquimbo’s port was badly damaged.

Interior Minister Jorge Burgos said that the evacuation of coastal towns and cities was ordered as a precautionary measure.

A Tsunami Advisory for Hawaii was canceled Thursday after officials said wave levels dropped enough that conditions would not be a threat to the state.

“Widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible” along the coast of Chile and Peru, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

It was felt as far away as Buenos Aires, in Argentina, about 1,400 kilometers away.

Eight people have been killed and 1 million evacuated from their homes after the natural disaster struck just off the coast of Chile, sending powerful waves flooding into its coastal cities.

Tsunami warnings have since been lifted in Chile. Antofagasta Plc also reported no damage to its flagship Los Pelambres copper mine.

In Santiago, a city of 6.6 million people, thousands fled swaying buildings, an AFP reporter said.

The National Tsunami Warning Center issued a Tsunami Advisory on Thursday morning, following an 8.3 magnitude quake that hit on Wednesday off the coast of Chile.

Compounding matters, the Chilean navy’s catastrophe-alert system failed to warn the population of impending tsunamis, leaving hundreds who survived the initial quake to be engulfed by massive waves that followed. That quake released so much energy, it shortened the Earth’s day by a fraction of a second by changing the planet’s rotation.

The Geophysical Laboratory in Tahiti says waves of slightly higher than one metre can be expected in the Marquesas and no higher than 30 centimetres in the most populated parts of the territory.