South America

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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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