Tsunami Triggered Following 8.8 Magnitude Earthquake in Chile

A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake has struck the country of Chile, triggering a Tsunami, with its epicenter close to the cities of Chillan and Concepcion, the latter being the second largest city in the country.

The NOAA said; "A tsunami has been generated that could potentially impact the U.S. west coast, British Columbia, and Alaska. The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center is investigating the event to determine the level of danger."  

Shaking and power outages have also been reported in the Chillean capital of Santiago, which is some 200 miles from the epicenter.  The quake struck shortly after 03:30 local time, 06:30 GMT, at a depth of 36.9 miles, which is sufficient enough to trigger a destructive tsunami.

A tsunami warning is in effect for the South American Pacific Coast, stretching up as far as Ecuador, and the authorities of the Hawaiian Islands have been put on alert, although no warnings or watches have been issued so far.

A tsunami has been observed at the following sites:

                Location               Lat.      Lon.      Time                Amplitude 
 83min     Talcahuano  C      36.7S   73.1W  0716UTC     1.15M/3.8FT
 45min     Valparaiso  C       33.0S   71.4W  0706UTC      1.29M/4.2FT
               Juan Ferdandez C 33.617S 78.83W                   0.19M/0.6FT

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