Tsunami Warning For NZ After Strong Earthquake Shakes Chile

Publish date: Thursday, 17 Sep 2015, 12:35PM

A powerful magnitude-8.3 earthquake shook Chile's capital Santiago, causing buildings to sway and people to take refuge in the streets.

At least three aftershocks above magnitude-6 and other strong shakes rattled the region as tsunami alarms sounded in the port of Valparaiso in the first major quake since a powerful quake and tsunami killed hundreds in 2010 and leveled part of a southern Chilean city.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but authorities said some adobe houses collapsed in the inland city of Illapel, about 280 kilometres north of Santiago.

Illapel's mayor, Denis Cortes, told a local television station that electricity was out in the city. "We are very scared. Our city panicked," he said.

Officials ordered people to evacuate low-lying areas along the 3,900 kilometers of Chile's Pacific shore, from Puerto Aysen in the south to Arica in the north. Cars streamed inland carrying people to higher ground.

Tsunami warning for NZ

The Ministry of Civil Defence has issued a tsunami warning for East Cape, Chatham Islands, Coromandel and Banks Peninsula.

Expected arrival times are 12 hours for Chatham Island and 13 hours for the East Coast of New Zealand (after the earthquake at 22:54 UTC)
— MCDEM (@NZcivildefence) September 17, 2015

People in the affected coastal areas should stay out of the water, off beaches, and listen to the radio for updates, civil defence said.

The tsunami warning would remain in effect until a cancellation message was issued.

"This warning has been issued to all local civil defence authorities, emergency services, other agencies and media," civil defence said.

"Local civil defence authorities will interpret this information for their areas and advise public action via local radio stations."

Strong tidal currents are likely to go on for 24 hours, with a peak 4 to 10 hours after the first arrival.
— MCDEM (@NZcivildefence) September 17, 2015

If the waves reached New Zealand, they were expected to first hit Gisborne about 12.15am.

A manager at an apartment block on Gisborne's marina was not aware of the tsunami warning.

However she says all residents will be made aware of the warning and of the buildings appropriate emergency and evacuation procedures when they returned home from work later this evening.

Hamish Glendinning told the Herald the quake lasted about one minute and there had already been one aftershock.

" We are in Santiago travelling but were in Valparaiso last week. No power outages in the capital."

He says the hostel in Bellavista, Santiago, where he was staying with his girlfriend shook.

"The hostel was not shaking violently...however it went on for a long time," he says. "Everything was swaying, we made an escape outdoors where we were safe as we weren't too sure how sturdy our accommodation was."

Hamish says while most people are calm, it's unclear the full extent of the damage.

So far he reports having felt one aftershock.

A woman named Esther wrote: "I am not in Chile but the earthquake was strong enough to make my lights swing all the way in Buenos Aires!"

Guy Hodges was with his wife and 5-year-old boy in Santiago when the quake struck.

"Quake shook us for over a minute had us taking shelter in the doorway. It was long and had our apartment building creaking. There have been at least 5 after shocks, 1 strong enough to scramble for the door again. Wasn't as bad as the 2010 shake which I went through in Santiago as well with my then pregnant wife. This time round, there doesn't seem to be any damage round the city and no major injuries. The cities on the coast have been put on tsunami alert."