MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Major offshore earthquake hits Chile; felt in Argentina, Peru and Brazil

The magnitude-8.3 quake hit off northern Chile causing buildings to sway in the capital of Santiago and prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning

A major earthquake just offshore rattled Chileans, killing at least five people and shaking the earth so strongly the tremor was felt in Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and even Brazil. Authorities worked into the early hours on Thursday assessing damage in several coastal towns that saw flooding from small tsunami waves set off by the quake.

 The magnitude-8.3 quake hit off northern Chile on Wednesday night, causing buildings to sway in the capital of Santiago and prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning for the nation's entire Pacific coast. People sought safety in the streets of inland cities, while others along the shore took to their cars to get to higher ground.

“Once again we must confront a powerful blow from nature,” President Michelle Bachelet said in an address to the nation late Wednesday.

Bachelet said three people had been killed in the quake but did not provide details. She urged people who evacuated from coastal areas to stay on high ground until authorities could fully evaluate the situation during the night.

Officials said schools would be kept closed in most of the country on Thursday.

Numerous aftershocks, including one at magnitude -7 and four above 6, shook the region after the initial earthquake, the strongest tremor since a powerful quake and tsunami killed hundreds in 2010 and leveled part of the city of Concepcion in south-central Chile.

Although officials cautioned it was too early to know for sure, it appeared Wednesday's quake had a much smaller impact than the 2010 tremor. If that turns out to be the case, it will be a sign that Chile's traditionally strong risk reduction measures and emergency planning had gotten better in the last five years.

“Earthquake impact is a little like real estate: what matters is location, location, location,” said Susan Hough, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey. “But it is true that preparedness and risk reduction in Chile is ahead of that in much of the world, and that makes a difference.”

The tremor was so strong that people in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the other side of the continent, reported feeling it. People in Peru, Paraguay and Brazil also reported feeling the shakes. No injuries were reported outside Chile.

Authorities said some adobe houses collapsed in the inland city of Illapel, about 280km north of Santiago and about 55km east of the quake's epicenter. Illapel's mayor, Denis Cortes, told a local television station that a woman had been killed in the city but declined to give any details.

Electricity was knocked out, leaving the city in darkness. “We are very scared. Our city panicked,” Cortes said.

A magnitude-8.8 quake and ensuing tsunami in south-central Chile in 2010 killed more than 500 people, destroyed 220 000 homes, and washed away docks, riverfronts and seaside resorts. That quake released so much energy, it actually it shortened the Earth's day by a fraction of a second by changing the planet's rotation.

The quake had huge ramifications, both political and practical, prompting Chile to improve its alert systems for both quakes and tsunamis.

While Wednesday's tremor was strong by any estimation, the 2010 quake was 5.6 times more powerful in terms of energy released, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Chile is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries because just off the coast, the Nazca tectonic plate plunges beneath the South American plate, pushing the towering Andes cordillera to ever-higher altitudes.