Update | Chile declares disaster after 8.2-magnitude quake sparks mass evacuations
An 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck Chile on Tuesday, killing five and triggering a tsunami that hit the northern coast of the country and a warning for South and Central America's Pacific regions
A major earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck off the coast of northern Chile on Tuesday, causing five deaths and triggering a tsunami that pounded the shore with 2-metre-tall waves.Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or were killed by heart attacks.
The government evacuated Chile’s northern coast and President Michelle Bachelet declared the area a disaster zone, promising troops and police reinforcements to maintain public order while damage was repaired after landslides blocked roads.
"We’re leaving with the children and what we can, but everything is clogged up by people fleeing buildings by the beach," said 32-year old Liliana Arriaza, who was driving away with her three children.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was shallow at 20.1 kilometres below the seabed and struck about 100 kilometres northwest of the mining port of Iquique near the Peruvian border.
Mining in the world’s top copper producer did not appear significantly interrupted, but about 300 prisoners took advantage of the emergency and escaped from a female penitentiary in Iquique.