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Our top story at this hour... Chile has been rocked by a massive magnitude
8-point-2 earthquake that triggered a tsunami. For the latest,... we connect live by phone
to our Shin Se-min. Se-min, fill us in.
Yes, Conn-young,... a magnitude-8-point-2 earthquake struck off the coast of northern
Chile Tuesday evening local time,... causing landslides and prompting authorities to issue
a tsunami warning that forced those in coastal areas to evacuate.
The Chilean government has so far reported a total of FIVE deaths,... two from heart
attacks and three after being crushed by a fallen wall.
Considering that this was a very strong earthquake,... authorities say the death toll is relatively
low. And also power has been knocked out for thousands
of local residents,... several buildings caught on fire,... and some roads are cut off due
to landslides.
Currently,... HOURS after the quake,... tsunami warnings are still in effect for the Pacific
coasts of Peru, Chile and Ecuador. Chile's government emergency office said its
tsunami watch will remain in effect for six more hours as a precaution.
And other countries in Central America remain under a tsunami watch.
Se-min, I believe the magnitute of the quake was upgraded at one point,... is that right?
That's right. The U.S. Geographical Survey said the quake
centered 98-kilometers northwest of the Chilean mining port of Iquique,... 20 kilometers deep
in the Pacific Ocean at 8:46 in the evening. The U.S. agency initially reported the quake
at 8-point-0,... but later upgraded it to an 8-point-2.
This quake caused small landslides as waves measuring 2 meters reached northern coastal
cities within 45 minutes of the quake. Multiple strong aftershocks followed,... including
at least one in the magnitude-6 range. Chile is part of the Pacific's "Ring of Fire,"
an area where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions often occur.
The area has been hit with a number of quakes over the past two weeks.
That was our Shin Se-min reporing on the ongoing crisis in Chile,... and we will bring you
more updates as the story develops.