Buildings caught fire, major highway bridges collapsed and debris lay in the streets across large swaths of central Chile affecting about two million people.
A 15-storey building collapsed in Concepcion, the closest major city to the epicentre, and overturned cars lay scattered below a fallen overpass in the capital Santiago. Telephone and power lines went down, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the damage and loss of life.
Chilean president-elect Sebastian Pinera said more than 200 had died in the 8.8-magnitude quake, which struck at 3:34 a.m., sending many people rushing from their beds and onto the streets in fear.
“It came in waves and lasted so long. Three minutes is an eternity. We kept worrying that it was getting stronger, like a terrifying Hollywood movie,” said housewife Dolores Cuevas.
“My house is completely destroyed, everything fell over,” said one elderly man in central Santiago. “It has been destroyed. Me and my wife huddled in a corner and after hours they rescued us.”
U.S. authorities reported more than 50 aftershocks continued to shake Santiago after the earthquake, with magnitudes ranging between 4.9 and 6.9.
Hundreds of people remained on the streets later in the day, with residents fearing return to their homes because of the risk of further shocks.
Following the quake, tsunami warnings were posted around the Pacific, including in Japan, Russia, and coastal British Columbia.
The warning for Hawaii was cancelled Saturday afternoon, after surges subsided without causing significant damage.
No major damage was expected along the B.C. coast, but low-lying coastal areas and beaches and marinas could be flooded, officials said. The first waves were expected to hit the southern B.C. coast sometime after 3 p.m. local time.
On Vancouver Island, the communities of Victoria, Tofino and Ucluelet were suggesting people move away from the water, beach, harbours and marinas.
“There is nothing to panic about,” said Amanda Ward, District of Ucluelet manager of emergency services. “We’re expecting heavy currents and tide surges around 3 p.m. to go for a few hours.”
U.S. President Barack Obama called Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and said the United States was ready to help.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon also extended sympathies to those affected by the Chilean earthquake on behalf of the Canadian government
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people and the government of Chile as it responds to the emerging natural disaster,” he said.
There were no reports of Canadians missing or injured in the South American country, but about 1,100 Canadians are currently registered as visitors to Chile.
Cannon said the federal government stands ready to provide “any necessary assistance” to the government of Chile, but he said that so far, there had been no request for international aid.
Although one emergency official said Chile’s death toll was unlikely to increase dramatically, the quake was one of the 10 biggest quakes recorded since 1900.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicentre of the earthquake struck 110 kilometres northeast of Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city, at a depth of 35 kilometres.
The capital Santiago, about 325 kilometres north, was also badly hit, leaving the international airport closed for at least 24 hours as the quake destroyed passenger walkways and shook glass out of doors and windows.
News of the earthquake left frustrated Canadians glued to television reports as they tried desperately to reach loved ones in Chile.
Hugo Torres, 65, a restaurant manager in Ottawa, moved to Canada from Chile in 1974. His mother, two siblings and a large extended family remain in Santiago.
Torres was trying to reach his family by telephone Saturday, but had been unable to get any kind of phone signal.
“I am very worried,” he said. “My whole family is there.”
Five decades ago, another earthquake measuring 9.5 hit Chile. It was the largest known tremor the world has seen in the past 200 years.
The May 1960 quake spawned a tsunami that engulfed the Pacific Ocean and killed about 1,600 in Chile and another 200 in Japan, Hawaii and the Philippines.
WSource:vancouversun.com/
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