An 8.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Chile yesterday. It is one of the strongest earthquakes on record killed at least 300 (body count is still rising as of report time) people in Chile. The quake also sent giant waves roaring across the Pacific Ocean that forced Japan, Hawaii, Philippines and other countries on the Pacific on tsunami alert almost a day later.

In an address to the nation, President Michelle Bachelet said two million Chileans had been affected but, after touring the worst-hit areas by plane, she found it hard to spell out the magnitude of the disaster.

Highways in the South American nation were sliced to pieces, bridges imploded and buildings collapsed as the 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck overnight some 325 kilometers (200 miles) southwest of the capital Santiago.
“The power of nature has again struck our country,” Bachelet said, declaring six of Chile’s 15 regions “catastrophe zones” in the aftermath of the 8.8-magnitude quake.

“This is a catastrophe of immense proportions, so it will be very difficult to give precise figures,” Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma said. Officials later said at least 300 people had been killed.

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