The FINANCIAL — A powerful earthquake rattled Chile on September 16, resulting in at least three deaths and causing the government to issue a tsunami alert as high waves flooded streets in a number of coastal cities, according to Nasdaq.
President Michelle Bachelet, who has faced natural disasters including forest fires and volcano eruptions since taking office last year, said she would travel to northern Chile on Thursday to assess the damage near the epicenter of the quake.
“We are going to travel. We are waiting for relevant information to know which places,” Ms. Bachelet said in a televised statement. The president confirmed that three people died, including one woman who was killed when a wall collapsed.
“We are going to declare a catastrophe zone in all of the zones affected,” she said.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the magnitude 8.3 quake was about 140 miles northwest of Chile’s capital Santiago, off the coast of the northern region of Coquimbo. A number of strong aftershocks followed the original quake.
Chilean media reported that some cities lost electricity.
State copper mine Codelco said it halted operations at one of its mines in northern Chile as it evacuated workers amid tsunami concerns.
Chile state TV showed water flowing in streets of Concó n, a coastal town known for its beautiful beaches that is close to the port city of Valparaí so. Higher water was also seen in other cities, but no destructive high waves had been reported.
Residents as far away as Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, said they felt the quake.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a watch for Hawaii, saying that if the quake did generate a strong tsunami, the surge would arrive about 3 a.m. local time September 17.
Chile is highly prone to natural disasters. In 2010, a magnitude 8.8 quake and tsunami left more than 500 people dead and destroyed 220,000 homes.
Since taking office for a second term in 2014, Ms. Bachelet has had to issue emergencies as a result of large forest fires and volcano eruptions in the south.
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