Magnitude-8.2 quake strikes northern Chile

April 1, 2014 | Associated Press | Luis Andres Henao

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A powerful magnitude-8.2 earthquake struck off northern Chile on Tuesday night, setting off a small tsunami that forced evacuations along the country's entire Pacific coast. The area apparently escaped major damage and casualties, but landslides blocked roads, power failed for thousands, an airport was damaged and several businesses caught fire.

In the city of Arica, 86 miles (139 kilometers) from the quake's epicenter, hospitals were treating minor injuries, and some homes made of adobe were destroyed and 90 percent of customers were without power, authorities said.

The quake also shook modern buildings in nearby Peru and in Bolivia's high altitude capital of La Paz.Hours later, tsunami warnings or watches remained in effect for the coasts of Peru and Chile, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Shortly before midnight, Chile's Emergency Office said its tsunami watch would remain in effect for six more hours, meaning hundreds of thousands of people along the coast would not sleep in their beds. Authorities in the U.S. state of Hawaii were on alert, but no tsunami watch was issued.

Source:  http://news.yahoo.com/magnitude-8-2-quake-strikes-northern-chile-010154283.html