Magnitude 8.3 Earthquake Hit Chile

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2015-09-16
Chile
Earthquake

At least 10 people died and 1 million people had to leave their homes when the 8.3-magnitude quake hit Chile on September 16.


Residents of Illapel, near the quake's epicentre, fled into the streets in terror as their homes began to sway. Officials said 1,800 people in Illapel were left without drinking water. Electricity providers said hundreds of thousands of their clients in the worst-affected Coquimbo region had no power.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the tremor struck off the coast of Coquimbo, 46km (29 miles) west of the city of Illapel at 19:54 local time (22:54 GMT). The USGS said it was at a depth of 25km, while Chilean seismologists calculated its depth at 11km.

Tsunami alerts were issued shortly after the quake struck for the entire Chilean coast but have been gradually lifted, with the last cancelled at 06:22 local time.

Source:
1. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34275783
2. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/earthquake-in-chile-rocks-capital-santiago