UPDATE 9:33 P.M.: (CNN) — At least five people were killed and 1 million evacuated from affected areas, when a powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck Chile Wednesday, the director of the National Office of Emergency for the Chilean Ministry of Interior, Ricardo Toro, announced at a Santiago news conference early Thursday morning.
At least three people were killed when a powerful earthquake struck Chile on Wednesday, President Michelle Bachelet said. The victims included a 35-year-old woman who was killed by a falling roof, a 20-year-old woman who was killed by falling rocks and a man in his 80s who had a heart attack, Bachelet said.
And the area has been hit with aftershocks too. At 8:55 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, a 6.2 earthquake struck 44 kilometers south-southwest of Ovalle, Chile.
(KRON) Parts of the Southern California coast is under a tsunami advisory after an 8.3 magnitude earthquake in Chile .
From the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center:
TSUNAMI ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR…
* THE COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA FROM SAN ONOFRE STATE BEACH
CALIFORNIA /WHICH IS LOCATED 45 MILES SE OF L.A./ TO RAGGED
POINT CALIFORNIA /WHICH IS LOCATED 50 MILES NW OF SAN LUIS
OBISPO/
FORECASTS OF TSUNAMI ACTIVITY
—————————–
FORECAST FORECAST FORECAST
START OF TSUNAMI MAX TSUNAMI
SITE OF TSUNAMI DURATION HEIGHT
—- ———- ——– ————-
* CALIFORNIA
NEWPORT BEACH 0446 PDT SEP 17 LESS THAN 1FT
LOS ANGELES HARB 0447 PDT SEP 17 LESS THAN 1FT
SANTA BARBARA 0506 PDT SEP 17 LESS THAN 1FT
PORT SAN LUIS 0510 PDT SEP 17 LESS THAN 1FTKRON4’s Earthquake Page
Hawaii is also under a tsunami advisory after an 8.3-magnitude earthquake off the coast of north Chile.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had originally issued a watch, saying a tsunami may have been generated by Wednesday’s earthquake. They later downgraded the alert to an advisory, saying that current data indicated there would be no major tsunami in the state, but that sea-level changes and dangerous currents could pose a threat to those in or near the water.
The center estimated that the effects from the tsunami would arrive about 3 a.m. Thursday.
The powerful earthquake shook Chile’s capital, causing buildings to sway and people to take refuge in the streets. Several strong aftershocks hit within minutes as tsunami alarms sounded in the nearby port of Valparaiso. There were no immediate reports of injuries, but authorities said some adobe houses collapsed in the inland city of Illapel, about 175 miles (280 kilometers) north of Santiago.
The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 7.9, but it quickly revised the reading upward to 8.3.
A watch means that a tsunami is possible, but it doesn’t mean it will happen, said Chevy Chevalier, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
“A watch is for everybody to be aware of it, that it’s a possibility,” he said. “A warning means it’s happening right now or it’s imminent.”
A tsunami warning was last issued for Hawaii in 2012, after a powerful earthquake off the coast of Canada. 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. The state was spared from severe surges.
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said state officials are standing by, awaiting updates from the warning center.
On the Big Island, officials were bracing to be the first island affected, county spokesman Ilihia Gionson said. Officials were gathered Wednesday in the county’s emergency operations center in Hilo, he said.
“It’s too early to tell,” he said. “This early it’s best to just stay informed.”