Continue reading »]]> One of the world’s most powerful earthquakes in a century battered Chile on Saturday, killing at least 214 people as it toppled buildings and triggered tsunamis that ravaged a port town and threatened Pacific coastlines as far away as Japan.

Buildings caught fire, others crumbled and bridges collapsed across swathes of central Chile, but the initial death toll was relatively low from a quake packing many times more power than the one that devastated Haiti last month.

An apartment block with up to 200 people inside collapsed in Concepcion, the closest major city to the epicenter, and rescue officials said they were unsure how many escaped.

Overturned cars lay scattered below a fallen overpass in the capital Santiago and telephone and power lines went down across the narrow country, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the damage and loss of life.

The government said at least 214 people were killed in the 8.8-magnitude quake, which struck at 3:34 a.m. (0634 GMT), sending people rushing from their beds and onto the streets in fear, hugging each other and crying.

"It came in waves and lasted so long. Three minutes is an eternity. We kept worrying that it was getting stronger, like a terrifying Hollywood movie," said Santiago housewife Dolores Cuevas.

Chilean officials said the number of deaths was unlikely to increase dramatically, and a U.S. Geological Survey researcher attributed the low toll to Chile’s solid building standards.

But it was the fifth-largest earthquake since 1900 and dealt a blow to the economy and infrastructure of the world’s No. 1 copper producer and one of Latin America’s most developed and stable countries. [ID:nN27181062] [ID:nN27183634]

"This will be a major blow to the country’s infrastructure; there has been major damage to roads, airports, which are now suspended, ports and also in housing," Chilean President-elect Sebastian Pinera said.

The quake halted operations at two oil refineries and two major copper mines [ID:nN27177467] and the government said an estimated half a million homes were severely damaged.

TSUNAMI

A tsunami swept into the port town of Talcahuano, causing serious damage to port facilities and lifting fishing boats out of the water. Television pictures showed shipping containers strewn around and flooded streets in the port, one of the most important in southern Chile.

President Michelle Bachelet said a huge wave hit the Juan Fernandez islands, an archipelago where Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned in the 18th century, inspiring the novel Robinson Crusoe.

"There was a series of waves that got bigger and bigger, which gave people time to save themselves," pilot Fernando Avaria told TVN television by telephone from the main island.

But at least four people were killed and 13 others were missing on the island, a local official said.

Fifteen hours after the quake struck Chile, the tsunami reached Hawaii’s Big Island, where residents and tourists were evacuated from low-lying coastal areas. The tsunami warning was later lifted for Hawaii, but Japanese officials said a wave up to 3 meters (10 feet) high could hit the country’s Pacific coast and warned residents to evacuate coastal areas.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 70 miles (115 km) northeast of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles (35 km). It said an earthquake of magnitude 8 or over can cause "tremendous damage." The Jan. 12 quake that devastated Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince and killed well over 200,000 people was measured as magnitude 7.0.

CAPITAL DAMAGED, MINES SHUT

Chile’s capital of Santiago, about 200 miles (320 km) north of the epicenter, was also badly hit. The international airport was closed for at least 24 hours as the quake destroyed passenger walkways and shook glass out of doors and windows.

Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, suspended operations at its El Teniente and Andina mines, but reported no major damage and said it expected the mines to be up and running in the "coming hours."

Production was halted at the Los Bronces and El Soldado copper mines, owned by Anglo American Plc, but Chile’s biggest copper mine, Escondida, was operating normally.

Chile produces about 34 percent of world supply of copper, which is used in electronics, cars and refrigerators.

In Concepcion, one of Chile’s largest cities with around 670,000 inhabitants, at least 12 buildings caught fire and rescue workers pulled 22 people from the rubble of the 15-storey apartment block that pancaked into itself.

Some residents looted pharmacies and a collapsed grains silo, hauling off bags of wheat, television images showed.

At least 269 prisoners took advantage of the quake to escape from a prison about 250 miles (450 km) south of Santiago, police said. Twenty-eight of the inmates were captured and three shot.

Broken glass and chunks of concrete and brick were strewn across roads and several strong aftershocks rattled jittery residents in the hours after the initial quake.

"It was like we were being shaken around in a box," said Claudia Rosario, a 27-year-old receptionist in Temuco, 175 miles (280 km) south of Concepcion. She said residents there were without water and electricity.

An eight-year-old boy and a man were killed in the northern Argentine city of Salta when a powerful aftershock caused walls to collapse, officials said.

There were blackouts in parts of Santiago. Emergency officials said buildings in the historic quarters of two southern cities, mainly made of adobe, had been badly damaged and local radio said three hospitals had partially collapsed.

In 1960, Chile was hit by a 9.5-magnitude earthquake, one of the biggest ever recorded. It devastated the city of Valdivia, killed 1,655 people and spawned a tsunami that engulfed the Pacific Ocean, taking another 200 lives in Japan, Hawaii and the Philippines.

President Barack Obama called Bachelet on Saturday and said the United States stood ready to help Chile. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was due to visit Chile on Tuesday on a Latin America tour. (Additional reporting by Helen Popper, Kevin Gray, Guido Nejamkis and Juliana Castilla in Buenos Aires; Alonso Soto in Santiago; Editing by Stuart Grudgings and Kieran Murray)

source: Reuters

Continue reading »]]> A huge 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Chile early on Saturday killing at least 78 people, toppling buildings and triggering a tsunami threatening the Pacific rim of fire, officials said.

The massive quake plunged much of the Chilean capital, Santiago, into darkness as it snapped power lines and severed communications.

AFP journalists spoke of walls and masonry collapsing while people in pyjamas fled onto the streets.

Television images showed destroyed or heavily damaged buildings and debris-strewn streets.

Residents in the south of the city, which appeared to have borne the brunt of the quake, said roads had crumpled and a bridge had been damaged, as an AFP correspondent said buildings "shook like jelly."

The US Pacific Tsunami warning center issued a "widespread" tsunami warning for all Pacific nations. Related article: Pacific nations on tsunami alert

A partial evacuation of Easter Island has been ordered in Chile in the face of possible big tidal waves, President Michelle Bachelet announced.

She also said two ships with aid had been dispatched to Robinson Crusoe Island, part of the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, which has been affected by a big tidal wave.

Japan’s meteorological agency warned of a tsunami risk across large areas of the Pacific including as far away as the Antarctic, as the Philippines warned low-lying coastal areas to prepare for possible evacuation.

Australia and New Zealand issued tsunami alerts while Russia said it was monitoring the risk.

The tremor struck at 3:34 am local time (0634 GMT) when many Chileans were still in nightclubs partying at the start of the weekend.

It was swiftly followed by a series of aftershocks ranging from 5.6 to 6.9 on the Moment Magnitude Scale.

Bachelet and her officials rushed to their offices to coordinate disaster relief, state television said, as the powerful aftershocks panicked the quake-prone Latin American country.

"With the quake of this magnitude and given its timing, we cannot rule out other casualties," Bachelet said as first reports came in of deaths.

Santiago lies 325 kilometers (200 miles) northeast of the epicenter of the quake, which hit at a depth of 35 kilometers (21.7 miles).

It struck 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of the Chilean town of Chillan, the US Geological Survey said, and 115 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Concepcion, a city of about a million people.

"Sea level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated which could cause widespread damage," the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Authorities should take "appropriate action," it added, but said the warning did not apply to the west coast of the United States.

"There is a possibility that tsunami will widely occur in the Pacific Ocean," an official for the Japanese meteorological agency said as Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines also issued warnings.

Asian nations have been on heightened alert ever since a massive 2004 tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ordered his government to be prepared to offer support for victims if necessary, Jiji Press reported.

"Swift action should be required," Hatoyama told reporters. "It appears to be fairly sizable. I told ministries concerned to be ready to take measures in case relief assistance is needed."

The European Union said it stood ready to provide immediate and coordinated aid for victims.

US seismologists had initially put the magnitude of the tremor at 8.5 but later adjusted it upwards to 8.8.

Earthquake-prone Chile lies along the Pacific rim of fire and is regularly rocked by quakes, but damage is often limited as they mostly hit in desert regions which are sparsely populated.

In May 1960 the country was ravaged what is now known as Valdivia or Great Chilean Earthquake, which was rated 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale.

The resulting tsunami affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, reaching as far as eastern New Zealand and southeast Australia.

The estimated death toll from that disaster ranged from over 2,200 to 5,700.

Continue reading »]]>

Vehicles that were driving along a highway that collapsed during the earthquake near Santiago are seen overturned on the asphalt Saturday Feb. 27, 1010 after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Chile early Saturday. The quake hit 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of the capital and the epicenter was just 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city.

Incoming search terms:

• hati earthquake 2010
• 2010 hati earthquake
• haiti highway

Continue reading »]]>

A tsunami advisory announced shortly after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s Ryukyu Islands early Saturday has been canceled, Japan’s Meteorological Agency reported.

There was no tsunami damage "though there may be slight sea level changes from now on," it said, referring to the areas affected by the advisory — the Okinawa Islands, the Amami Islands and the Tokara Islands.

The quake was centered 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep and struck at 5:31 a.m. (3:31 p.m. ET Friday) about 85 kilometers (53 miles) from Okinawa.

The quake was felt on Okinawa, with shaking that lasted about 15 seconds, said Lt. Col. Daniel King of the U.S. Pacific Command. He told CNN that commanders in Japan and Hawaii were trying to get damage and casualty reports from U.S. military stations on Okinawa, but had heard nothing in the immediate aftermath.

About 20,000 U.S. troops — mostly Marines, along with Navy and Air Force personnel — are stationed on eight bases on Okinawa, he said.

Continue reading »]]>

A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake rocked Chile early Saturday, killing at least 78 people and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said she expected the death toll to rise.

Numerous aftershocks — including one of magnitude 6.9 — were felt within hours of the initial quake, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake’s epicenter was located off the coast of Maule, about 200 miles southwest of the capital of Santiago. It struck at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. ET), when most people were sleeping.

source

Continue reading »]]> Chile’s Chaiten volcano, which erupted spectacularly last year, spewed a vast cloud of ash on Thursday in what appeared to be a partial collapse of its cone.

Television footage showed a could of ash billowing into the sky over the town of Chaiten, which lies about six miles (10 km) from the crater.

Authorities evacuated about 160 people from the area. Most of the town’s 4,500 residents were evacuated last year after the volcano, dormant for thousands of years, erupted. The government is planning to relocate the town.

“There has been a significant resumption of activity of Chaiten volcano,” Deputy Interior Minister Patricio Rosende said. “Our security team have observed an increase in the size of a column of ash and smoke, with a deformation to one side.”

“That leads us to presume that there is a collapse of one of the cones,” he added. “This is more proof of the imminent risk in the area. It is a time-bomb.”

National emergency office Onemi said that while there was a large volume of ash, there had been none of the earth tremors or groaning sounds that accompanied activity last year.

The government insists on moving the entire town, but some residents are resisting the plan — to the exasperation of emergency officials.

“The volcano has always been in a state of eruption (since May), that has to be made clear,” an Onemi official said, asking not to be named.

“We have repeatedly said that there is a red alert and that people should not be there, and if that had been respected, then police would not be evacuating people.”

A cloud of debris soared as high as 20 miles (32 km) into the air when the volcano erupted in May and was kept aloft by the pressure of constant eruptions for weeks, covering towns in neighboring Argentina with volcanic ash. (Reporting by Monica Vargas and Simon Gardner)

Chile’s Chaiten volcano spewing ash again | Reuters

Continue reading »]]> Twenty-four people, including seven children, have died after the plane they were flying in crashed in a river in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.

Four people survived the crash into the River Manacapuru.

The pilots had reportedly contacted air traffic control a short distance from their destination of Manaus to say they were turning back.

But the aircraft, which took off from Coari, then disappeared from radar, apparently during heavy rain.

A local fire service official was quoted by Brazil’s TV Globo as saying the pilots had been trying to reach a local airport, but the plane fell short by 500 metres.

A rescue effort to find survivors began immediately, and four people were recovered alive, all of whom are said to be in a good condition.

The dead people were recovered from inside the plane.

The bad weather in the region had hampered the rescue effort in the murky waters.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.

The plane involved in the accident was a twin-engine aircraft built by the Brazilian company Embraer.

Brazil river plane crash kills 24

Continue reading »]]> Forecasters are warning of more rain as Brazil reels from devastating floods caused by torrential rains this week.

Meteorologists have predicted at least some chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday.

At least a hundred people have died with more than a dozen still missing.

And tens of thousands of people in 14 cities have been forced to seek shelter in schools, churches and public buildings.

The floodwaters are beginning to recede in the state of Santa Catarina, but the floods and the ensuing mudslides have killed as many as 100 people, and authorities say the toll is still rising.

Rescue teams and local volunteers are still searching for the missing.

Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, toured the disaster area, and promised more government help.

Volunteers and troops were scrambling to distribute medicine, food, water and clothes to people in a region where power outages contributed to a lack of clean water and fresh food.

Disaster zone

The government-owned bank Caixa Economica Federal announced it would provide 1.5bn reals ($652bn) in loans for people and businesses in the disaster zone so they can buy goods like construction materials and appliances.

Nearby states are also sending relief supplies for the homeless in Santa Catarina.

Nearly 80,000 people have been displaced, half of them in the once booming port city of Itajai.

As looters raided Itajai’s biggest supermarket, police stood by, saying that they were ordered to let residents take food and water from stores.

Evacuation urged

But officials warn that there is a danger of more deadly mudslides and are urging people in risk-prone areas to evacuate their homes and seek shelter elsewhere.

After surveying large areas hit by the mudslides, experts at Sao Paulo’s Technological Research Institute said tragedy could strike again because the earth is still saturated with water.

“The stabilisation of the soil is extremely precarious and if there is more rain, then there could be more mudslides,” the institute’s Luiz Antonio Gomes was quoted as saying in the Santa Catarina government’s website.

Al Jazeera English

Continue reading »]]> A powerful earthquake has struck south-western Panama, close to the border with Costa Rica, says the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The quake was reported with a magnitude of 6.2 and happened at a depth of 48.2km (30 miles), monitors said.

The epicentre was close to the Pacific coast and 55km (35 miles) west of David, Panama’s third-largest city and home to 125,000 people.

There have been no reports of any injuries of casualties, says the USGS.

People close to the quake contacted local radio stations in Panama to say they had felt strong aftershocks, reported Reuters.

The news agency also reported that the tremors were felt in the Costa Rican capital San Jose, but that authorities there had received no reports of damage.

Panama is located on the Pacific Ring, which forms a belt of seismic activity along the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

A quake measuring 6.1 struck close to David in January this year.

BBC NEWS

Continue reading »]]> ST. JOHN, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — A strong earthquake jolted people awake Saturday in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and nearby Puerto Rico. There were no immediate reports of damages.

The magnitude 6.1 quake was the strongest to hit Puerto Rico in 20 years, according to Christa von Hillebrandt, director of the seismic network on the Mayaguez campus of the University of Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck was centered about 70 kilometers (43 miles) northwest of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands.

Disaster officials in the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico said there were no reports of significant damage or injuries.

“At first I thought it was a big truck rolling by but then I realized the windows were closed,” said British Virgin Islands government spokeswoman Sandra Ward.

The quake struck on the 90th anniversary of the worst temblor ever recorded in Puerto Rico, a magnitude 7.3 quake that killed 118 people in the western half of the U.S. Caribbean territory, Hillebrandt said.

The Associated Press: Strong quake shakes Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico