Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Deadly Magnitude-8.4 Earthquake Rocks Central Chile; Tsunami Advisory in Effect for Hawaii and Southern California

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
September 16,2015; 10:27PM,EDT
 
 
A magnitude-8.4 earthquake occurred off the coast of central Chile shortly before 8 p.m. local time (7 p.m. EDT) on Wednesday, and multiple aftershocks have also been reported, the Chilean National Seismological Center said.
Three people died as a result of the earthquake, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said in a news conference.
Tsunami advisories have been issued for the state of Hawaii and parts of Southern California, the U.S. National Weather Service said. New Zealand issued a tsunami warning, the country's Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management reported.
Flooding from a tsunami wave covers a roadway in Coquimbo, Chile. A magnitude-8.4 earthquake struck the region on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015.(Photo/Bio-Bio Informa)
Along some coasts of Chile, tsunami waves of more than 9 feet (3 meters) in height are possible, the PTWC said. Tsunami waves with a height of 15.3 feet (4.7 meters) have been measured near the port city of Coquimbo, Chile; a 6.1-foot (1.9 meter) wave was reported in Valparaiso. The highest tsunami threats are Chile and French Polynesia.
Tsunami waves up to 0.3 meters (0.98 feet) are expected to make it all the way to China, the U.S. warning center forecasted.
Police patrol a debris-strewn street in Valparaiso, Chile, after a tsunami, caused by a magnitude-8.4 earthquake hit the area, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. (Photo/Pablo Ovalle Isasmendi/AGENCIA UNO via AP)
The temblor occurred at 7:56 p.m. local time, Wednesday, 34 miles west of Illapel, Chile, and 144 miles northwest of Santiago, Chile's capital. It occurred as the result of thrust faulting on the interface between the Nazca and South America plates in central Chile, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The USGS measured the initial earthquake at magnitude-8.3.
At least seven major aftershocks have occurred in the area since the initial temblor, with the largest being a magnitude-7.6, the Chilean seismological center reported.

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The Associated Press reported that buildings swayed in Santiago and communications have been disrupted. The AP also said that some Adobe houses have collapsed in Illapel.


Chile's Interior Minister Jorge Burgos said the Chilean government ordered the evacuation of coastal cities. Some hospitals were evacuated as a result of the earthquake.
School classes on Thursday have been canceled across much of the country, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said. Emergency measures were taken very quickly given the magnitude of the earthquake, the president said.
Currently the weather is dry across much of Chile, including near where the earthquake occurred, AccuWeather Meteorologist Jordan Root said. Patchy clouds are also in the area, he said.
"Dry weather will continue for the next few days," Root said, adding that temperatures are right around normal.

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Modeled tsunami travel times. The wave from the Chile earthquake will arrive in ~13 hours, or ~5 AM Thursday.
(Image/USGS)
The earthquake is the largest since April 1, 2014, when a magnitude-8.2 megathrust earthquake struck off the Chilean coast near Iquique, and also triggered a large tsunami.
AccuWeather Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger contributed content to this story.
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