Massive Earthquake Strikes Chile

A massive earthquake has struck just offshore Maule, Chile, 320 kms (200 miles) South West of Santiago.

The 8.8 quake, 90 kms from Chile’s second largest city Concepcion, struck at 3:34am local time Saturday morning (6:34 GMT.)

Reports are sketchy at this stage, with reports of black outs in Santiago. At the time of writing there are some reports of building collapses in Concepcion. The greater area of Concepcion has a population of 880,000 people.

There is a tsunami warning in place for Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

Update: a “state of catastrophe has been declared in Chile. The earthquake has been re-rated to 8.8 after earlier having been reported to be 8.3. At least 100 people are believed to have died, and the death toll is expected to rise.