TSUNAMI HITS CHILE AND SPREADS

A powerful earthquake has struck off the central coast of Chile, sparking a tsunami, killing at least three people and triggering the evacuation of coastal areas.

Thousands of terrified residents rushed out onto the streets in the capital Santiago when the quake struck just before 8:00pm (local time). It was felt as far away as Argentina, where buildings also swayed.
Chilean president Michelle Bachelet put the death toll at three, with 10 more injured, and said she would go on Thursday to the affected zones.

"Once again we are forced to face a difficult blow from mother nature," she told reporters, according to local media.
"The information at hand is that there are three deaths, two in the IV region and another in Maipu.
"We are monitoring the affected regions, the level of the damage ... All the zones affected will be declared catastrophe zones."
The quake struck at a depth of 25 kilometres, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. Estimates of the quake's magnitude varied from 7.9 to 8.3.
The navy reported waves of up to 4.5 metres near the port city of Coquimbo.
"We're going through a really grave situation with the tsunami. We have residential neighbourhoods that have flooded ... the ocean has reached the downtown area," Coquimbo mayor Cristian Galleguillos said.
Chile's government has urged residents to evacuate from the coastline.
Interior minister Jorge Burgos said the evacuation of coastal towns and cities was ordered as a precautionary measure.
The quake was felt as far away as Buenos Aires, in Argentina, about 1,400 kilometres away, while a tsunami warning was in place for the whole of Chile's coastline.
About 20 minutes after the initial earthquake, three aftershocks all greater than magnitudes 6.1 struck the region, the USGS reported.
The mayor of Illapel, which is near the epicentre, said that a 26-year-old woman had been killed by a collapsing wall, and 15 others were reported injured.
Waves of up to three metres are possible along the coasts of Chile, Peru and French Polynesia, the Pacific Tsunami Centre (PTWC) in Hawaii said.
The PTWC also issued an alert for waves of between 0.3 to 1 metres for Japan, Antarctica, and most of the South Pacific, including New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.
A tsunami warning has also been issued for Hawaii.