Chile's deadly earthquake sparks Pacific-wide tsunami fear

A large earthquake shook Chile Wednesday afternoon, forcing one million people out of their homes and 240,000 households to lose electricity. The magnitude-8.3 earthquake lasted for three minutes and destroyed many homes.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Although this earthquake had a much smaller impact than Chile's devastating 2010 quake that left hundreds of people dead, it caused both Hawaii and Coastal California to issue tsunami advisories.

Associated Press reported, "The tremor was so strong that people in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the other side of the continent, felt it. People in Peru and Brazil also reported feeling the shakes."

"This particular earthquake doesn't change the situation here in Southern California. There is always a chance of an earthquake in the next 10 minutes, the next day, the next decade and so the best thing we can do is to be prepared for it and act appropriately," Mark Simons, a geophysicist with the California Institute of Technology, said to CBS Los Angeles.

Dozens of magnitude-6 aftershocks followed the terrifying event; many residents spent the night sleeping on the streets in front of their destroyed homes.

"I thought it was the end of the world and we were going to die," said a shooken Manuel Moya to AP, while laying with his wife outside. According to Moya both he and his wife were in bed when the earthquake struck, and immediately ran outside. After the first earthquake, their house had been reduced to rubble.

"They said it was a magnitude 8 but it felt like a 10," said Moya.

Chile is located directly near the Nazca tectonic plate that plunges beneath the South American plate, making it one of the most earthquake-prone countries. The world's strongest earthquake took place in Chile in 1960, measuring at a magnitude-9.5 and killing more than 5,000 people.

In just the last year, Chile has endured destructive floods, wildfires and two volcano eruptions.

"Once again we must confront a powerful blow from nature," stated President Michelle Bachelet, advising the evacuated to remain on high ground.

The death toll currently stands at eight, but is expected to rise as rescue teams shift through the most damaged areas.

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