Earthquake magnitude 8.8 Richter scale demolished the south central region of Chile, Saturday morning, killing 85 people, knocked down houses and hospitals, and forcing the issuance of tsunami warnings to Hawaii, Mexico, Australia and Japan.
Building on fire, while residents huddled in the dirty streets of broken glass and stones. Many of them fear a mighty shock and with great difficulty contacting friends and relatives.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced, 85 people confirmed dead and likely still will increase.
Telephone and electricity was off, making it difficult to access locations that are badly damaged right at the epicenter of the earthquake.
Chile is the largest copper producer in the world, but after this great earthquake, all mining operations at two major mines near the capital Santiago, was stopped.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) memaklumatkan that at 3:34 local time, an earthquake shook Chile in 56 miles northeast of Concepcion town, with a sea depth of the epicenter 22 miles.
The capital of Santiago is about 200 miles from the north, the epicenter, the quake was also torn down. International airport was forced to shut down, because the earthquake had damaged the passenger space and broken glass has been damaged doors and windows of the airport.
Local television showed a building burning in Concepcion, once said that some residents had looted a drug store.
Broken glass and piles of rocks scattered on the road, and shaking earthquake forced residents stood outside the house a long time. A few minutes after the earthquake, residents poured into the streets in the capital Santiago, hugging each other and cried.
Power out in many parts of the city of Santiago, while the communication path is not located in areas closest to the epicenter of the earthquake.
SAR officials said, buildings on the historic site in two southern Chilean city badly damaged, while local radio reported three hospitals collapsed.
Regions leading producer of copper mines of Chile and some of the largest copper producer in the world is located in the north, near the border with Peru. However, many reportedly discovered copper reserves are near Santiago.
Suspended copper production at the mines Los Bronces and El Soldado, owned by Anglo American Plc. following the Chile earthquake.
But the biggest copper processing company Chile, Escondida, continue to operate normally.
Chile produces about 34 percent of world copper demand, which is used for electronics, vehicles and refrigerator.
Bachelet urged people to remain calm and stay home to avoid road accidents. "This strong earthquake would swallow many of the victims," said Bachelet.
One berkuatan 8 earthquake on the Richter Scale or more, can create tremendous damage to large, according the USGS.
The earthquake that meluluhlantakan Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, January 12, magnitude 7.0 on the Richter scale.
Bachelet said, violent waves beat Juan Fernandez Islands off the coast of Chile, while radio stations reported severe damage in the islands where the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk stranded in 18th century and later inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe.
Bachelet announced that the great wave struck the southern island of Juan Fernandez, and radio stations reported serious damage.
He revealed, residents were evacuated from coastal areas of remote Easter Island in Chile, which is a popular tourist destination with its Moai statues.
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported the possibility that the tsunami destroyed along the coast near the epicenter of the quake and threaten beaches farther than that.
Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning in some Latin American countries, and the tsunami could hit as far as Hawaii in the U.S., as well as Japan, Russia, Philippines, Indonesia and the South Pacific.
Based on the census of 2002, Concepcion was one of the largest city in Chile with a population of about 670,000 inhabitants.
In 1960, Chile was hit by the biggest earthquake ever recorded world, since 1990.
An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale destroyed the town in the south central region, Valdivia, by killing 1655 people and caused waves that beat the Easter Island 2300 miles away from the coast of Chile, and continued to hit Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.
The earthquake that occurred Saturday morning local time it arrived at the province of Mendoza and San Juan in Argentina.
This earthquake destroyed the coastal areas of Chile, from Valdivia in the south to the north of Valparaiso, which reached 500 miles away.
Tsunami Warning Center said the state of Hawaii may be raised to the status of the warning area.
Meanwhile, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner menelefon Michelle Bachelet to offer assistance to Chile Argentina.
Chile's president responded by saying the offer was terimasih to Fernández de Kirchner.
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