More than 2 million people were affected by a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked Chile early Saturday, President Michelle Bachelet said in a televised news conference.
At least least 214 people were killed in the quake and the resulting tsunami, which ravaged parts of the Chilean coast and fanned out across the Pacific Ocean.
A large wave killed three people and 10 were missing on the island of Juan Fernandez, 400 miles (643 km) off the coast of Chile, said Provincial Governor Ivan De La Maza.
On mainland Chile, the task of trying to save survivors and recover the dead was fully under way. Buildings lay in rubble, bridges and highway overpasses were toppled and roads buckled like rumpled paper. Mangled cars were strewn on several highways, many of the vehicles coming to rest on their roofs.
“This is a major event. This happened near some very populated areas,” said Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “With an 8.8 you expect damage to the population in the area.”
As the day unfolded, desperate relatives searched for missing loved ones. Many of the survivors took to the Internet to ask for help in locating relatives.
The quake struck at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. ET) off the Pacific coast at a depth of nearly 22 miles (35 km) and about 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Chillan, Chile, the USGS said. Santiago, the capital, is 200 miles (325 km) northeast of the epicenter.
At least 33 aftershocks were reported, including a 6.3-magnitude in Argentina.
Chilean officials took to the airwaves to try to control any jitters.
“We are asking everyone to stay calm, to be patient,” Chilean President Michelle Bachelet told reporters after inspecting some of the damaged areas. “We assure everyone that emergency crews are working to resolve these issues.”
Bachelet declared areas of catastrophe, similar to a state of emergency, which will allow her to rush in aid. She said the town of Chillan — which was destroyed by a killer quake in 1939 — was one of the worst affected.
Bachelet noted that two of the largest hospitals had suffered structural damage and patients were taken to other facilities. Other public institutions also were affected.
The military was coordinating the transfer of patients to hospitals, said Undersecretary of Public Health Jeanette Vega. “All patients are being cared for,” she told reporters in the city of Concepcion.
But she pleaded for anyone who did not need immediate medical care not to seek treatment. “This is a time when we need to be in solidarity with the people who need it most,” she said, also asking for any health workers able to pitch in to do so.
Four field hospitals were being set up and tanker trucks full of fresh water were already circulating in areas that had lost access to clean water, she said.
Other public institutions also were affected. “There were reports of riots at one of the jails,” Bachelet said. “The jails have, of course, received significant damage. The justice department is looking into the situation, evaluating the damage. We are looking into possibly moving some of these inmates.”
The United States has resources positioned to assist if Chile requests help, President Obama said in a midafternoon address to the nation.
Obama also warned residents in Hawaii and other areas that could be affected by a tsunami to heed safety instructions from state and local officials.
A tsunami warning for Hawaii was lifted Saturday afternoon. Waves of 3 feet were recorded at the city of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, but were lower than expected, and no damage was reported.
Meanwhile, tsunami activity was reported on the island of Tasmania, according to officials in Australia.
Saturday’s temblor comes about six weeks after an 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated parts of Haiti and killed more than 220,000 people. The Chilean quake, at magnitude 8.8, was 700 to 800 times stronger.
Coastal Chile has a history of deadly earthquakes, with 13 quakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher since 1973, the USGS said. As a result, experts noted that newer buildings are constructed to help withstand the shocks.
(Source: http://www.cnn.com/)
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4 Responses
It seems like massive earthquakes are becoming much more frequent. Are earthquakes a sign of ikvasa demishicha?
yitzi w
the pasuk in yichezkel, 38 talks about earthquakes happening as mashiach comes (maybe before maybe after, its a machlokes rishonim) right around the time of milchomas gog u’magog.
what’s interesting is that eretz yisroel lies at the top of the great rift valley, which separates the two african plates from the arabian plate. this northernmost volcano in the valley is off the coast of yemen and just recently became active after it was thought to be extinct for a very long time.
the passuk says that there will come a time that hashem will cause an earthquake and everyone will know the he is our g-d….this time is right when israel gets invaded by a coalition force of many countries, and it lists paras, which is iran. eretz magog, which josephus identifies as the land of the skythoi, which was the word for russia (scythians inhabited the land that is now the south of russia), put which is lybia, kush which is either egypt or sudan, depending. gomer, which josephus identifies as anatolia, which is now turkey. togarmah, which many ancient sources identify as the people of the caucasus, and “many nations from the uttermost north”. there has never been an alliance between russia, iran (persia), and north african countries before this point in history…we’re literally watching the psukim unfold in front of us!
There is a significant Jewish community in Chile. How are the Jews?
thank you hanavon. (fitting name) That was very interesting.