Santiago: A powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake hit Chile’s Pacific coast, killing at least five people as tsunami waves of more than two metres lashed the shore.
Panicked residents poured into the streets after the authorities ordered them to flee to higher ground, while President Michelle Bachelet declared parts of northern Chile hit by the offshore quake to be disaster zones.
“The street lights were busted, people ran terrified. After the earthquake there were several aftershocks,” Veronica Castillo told AFP from Arica, 1,000 miles north of the Chilean capital Santiago.
Military officials will be sent the areas to prevent looting and disorder, she said. (AFP)