A “massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday” the Associated Press writes, “killing at least 78 people, collapsing buildings and setting off a tsunami.”
By comparison, the devasting earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12 was a 7.0-magnitude temblor.
Today’s quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey says happened at 3:34 a.m. local time (1:34 a.m. ET), is thought to have been centered off Maule, Chile, and about 22 miles below the surface of the Earth.
The BBC reports that “one resident of Chillan, 100km (62 miles) from the epicenter, told Chilean television the shaking there lasted about two minutes.”
According to the AP, “a huge wave” already reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles off the Chilean coast, Chilean President Michele Bachelet said.
The National Weather Service’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami warning that stretches across the Pacific Ocean. Here’s how it reads:
“A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR:
“CHILE / PERU / ECUADOR / COLOMBIA / ANTARCTICA / PANAMA / COSTA RICA / NICARAGUA / PITCAIRN / HONDURAS / EL SALVADOR / GUATEMALA / FR. POLYNESIA / MEXICO / COOK ISLANDS / KIRIBATI / KERMADEC IS / NIUE / NEW ZEALAND / TONGA / AMERICAN SAMOA / SAMOA / JARVIS IS. / WALLIS-FUTUNA / TOKELAU / FIJI / AUSTRALIA / HAWAII / PALMYRA IS. / TUVALU / VANUATU / HOWLAND-BAKER / NEW CALEDONIA / JOHNSTON IS. / SOLOMON IS. / NAURU / MARSHALL IS. / MIDWAY IS. / KOSRAE / PAPUA NEW GUINEA / POHNPEI / WAKE IS. / CHUUK / RUSSIA / MARCUS IS. / INDONESIA / N. MARIANAS / GUAM / YAP / BELAU / JAPAN / PHILIPPINES / CHINESE TAIPEI”
And it’s issued this specific message for Hawaii:
“A TSUNAMI WARNING CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII.”
The wave is expected to reach Hawaii around 11:19 a.m. local time (4:19 p.m. ET) and to be large enough to potentially cause damage along the islands’ coasts.
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