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| Situation Update No. 1 Ref.no.: EQ-20100227-25098-CHL
Situation Update No. 1
On 2010-02-27 at 09:17:32 [UTC]
Event: Earthquake
Location: Chile Región del Maule 42 km W Cauquenes
Number of Deads: 6 person(s)
Situation: A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck south-central Chile early on Saturday, killing at least six people, triggering a tsunami and rattling buildings in the capital Santiago. President Michelle Bachelet said six people were killed and that more deaths were possible. Telephone and power lines were down, making a quick assessment of the damage difficult in the early morning darkness. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 56 miles (90 km) northeast of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles (35 km) at 3:34 a.m. (0643 GMT). Local television stations said there was damage to buildings in the historic center of Santiago, which lies about 200 miles (320 km) north of the epicenter. People streamed onto the streets of the capital, hugging each other and crying, and there were blackouts in parts of the city. An earthquake of magnitude 8 or over can cause "tremendous damage," the USGS says. The quake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12 was rated at magnitude 7.0. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the Chile quake generated a tsunami that may have been destructive along the coast near the epicenter "and could also be a threat to more distant coasts." It issued a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru, and a tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica. |  | | | |
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