Chile quake kills 10, one million evacuated

A million people were evacuated in Chile after an 8.3-magnitude quake struck offshore in the Pacific, killing at least 10 people and triggering tsunami waves along its northern coast.
Last night's earthquake was the sixth most powerful in the history of geologically volatile Chile and the strongest anywhere in the world this year, officials said.
Buildings swayed as far away as in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1,500 kilometers to the east.
In northern Chile, people were evacuated to higher ground as strong aftershocks followed through the night, triggering a tsunami alert for the Chilean coast.
Huge waves of up to 4.5 meters came crashing onshore in the Coquimbo region. The fishing village of Tongoy was among the worst-hit, with television showing entire areas along the seafront completely destroyed.

Two-meter waves also struck the tourist port of Valparaiso, according to the Chilean navy, flattening several beachfront restaurants.

President Michelle Bachelet was traveling to the quake-hit area today to assess the relief effort.
"We know there can be aftershocks and we are monitoring the situation minute by minute," she said.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves were also possible in French Polynesia, Hawaii and California, officials said, as well as smaller waves as far afield as Japan and New Zealand.
The north Chilean coastal city of Illapel was among the hardest-hit, with power knocked out, homes collapsing and at least one fatality.

Daybreak revealed the damage to the northern town of 30,000, with shacks destroyed, store shelves overturned and the local cemetery a chaos of broken crosses, vases and coffins.
Chile lies on what is known as the "Ring of Fire" -- an arc of fault lines that circles the Pacific Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
In February 2010, an 8.8-magnitude quake off the Chilean coast killed more than 500 people and inflicted an estimated USD 30 billion in damages.
Yesterday's quake struck at 2254 GMT, measuring 8.3 on the so-called moment magnitude scale, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

It occurred at a shallow depth, 228 kilometers north of Santiago, a city of 6.6 million people.
The tremor was clearly felt as far as Buenos Aires, where panicked residents were sent running out of apartment blocks.
Choapa province, closest to the epicenter, was declared a disaster zone.
Interior Minister Burgos revised the death toll upwards from eight to 10 people. He said evacuations of coastal towns and cities had been ordered as a precautionary measure.