Waves of up to 4.5m high reported in some parts of Chile as tsunami warning issued for Peru, Chile, New Zealand, California and Hawaii
6.51am BST
As it nears 3am in Chile, one million people are on the streets taking refuge from a major earthquake, which has been followed by flooding and waves of up to 4.5m.
6.39am BST
Speaking to reporters in southern California, a Caltech seismologist, Mark Simons, said those affected by the earthquake need to remain vigilant, especially if the 8.3 magnitude portends a larger seismic event. The quake, which was felt as far away as Buenos Aires in Argentina, has killed at last five people.
6.36am BST
A tsunami alert remains in place across most of Chile, as well as in Hawaii, New Zealand, Peru and parts of California. This map shows how far the waves generated by the earthquake are expected to travel. It took place 7.54pm local time - just under seven hours ago.
6.15am BST
More photographs now from Los Vilos, a town on the Chilean coast that appears to have borne the brunt of this 8.3 magnitude quake.
Nuevas fotos que me llegan de la Costanera de Los Vilos @ahoranoticiasAN @SoledadOnetto @JoseRepenning pic.twitter.com/OICAQBqtP7
6.10am BST
Chile’s emergency agency has cancelled tsunami warnings for Isla San Felix, the Juan Fernandez Archipelago and the regions of Los Rios, Los Lagos, Aysen and Magallanes. It remains active from the rest of the coast.
Se cancela alarma de tsunami en Isla San Felix, Archipiélago Juan Fernandez y la región de Los Ríos, Los Lagos, Aysén y Magallanes
6.00am BST
If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest on the 8.3 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile about six hours ago.
5.47am BST
Associated Press has just filed this wrap, by Luis Andres Henao:
A major earthquake just offshore rattled Chileans, killing five people and shaking the Earth so strongly the tremor was felt in places across South America. Authorities worked into the early hours Thursday assessing damage in several coastal towns that saw flooding from small tsunami waves set off by the quake.
The magnitude-8.3 quake hit off northern Chile on Wednesday night, causing buildings to sway in the capital of Santiago and prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning for the Andean nation’s entire Pacific coast. People sought safety in the streets of inland cities, while others along the shore took to their cars to get to higher ground.
5.32am BST
This map shows the latest tsunami threat levels in New Zealand, with waves of between 0.2m to 1m expected all the way down the east coast.
Updated #tsunami warning areas pic.twitter.com/ruzfR3NdfQ
5.20am BST
This map, from the US Geological Survey, shows the initial earthquake (in light blue) followed by 15 subsequent aftershocks. Just three were below 5 on the richter scale (and they were all 4.9).
5.14am BST
Los Vilos is right on the Chilean coast, only a few kilometres from the epicentre of the earthquake, which we understand took place offshore. Journalist Juan Miranda has published these photographs from the town.
Algunas fotos que me llegan de Los Vilos. Del borde costero pic.twitter.com/ASEYZYrhjY
4.45am BST
The undersecretary for the ministry of the interior and public security says five people have killed and one million people across Chile have been evacuated.
Subsecretario entrega nuevo reporte de sismo de mayor intensidad: 5 fallecidos y 1 millón de personas evacuadas pic.twitter.com/Rt2Z4wbE9F
#TERREMOTO, Lamentable imágen de Tongoy. destrucción a la vista. imágen @via twitter pic.twitter.com/klsSdSrNly
4.37am BST
This map, from the United States National Tsunami Warning Centre, shows how the energy generated by this 8.3 magnitude quake might spread across the Pacific. The colour indicates the predicted waves above sea level in centimetres.
4.26am BST
My colleague Jonathan Franklin has been listening the Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, address the country.
She confirmed that three people had been killed and the towns of Coquimbo and Tongoy were heavily flooded. Both areas have been declared catastrophe zones and the army will be sent in to prevent looting. Bachelet will visit both towns tomorrow.
4.03am BST
Habla la presidente Michelle Bachelet tras el terremoto en #Chile ✏Hay 3 personas muertas ✏Suspenden las clases ✏Viajará a la cuarta región
3.48am BST
In Fiji, where it’s about 2.48pm, the government has warned the first wave generated by this earthquake is expected to arrive around midnight. It advises “no immediate action”.
The Solomon Islands government is still carrying out a threat assessment, but says, “at this stage we don’t know if a tsunami has actually been generated”.
3.45am BST
Seismic waves from Chile earthquake recorded on seismometers in schools in Australia #ChileQuake @AuScope @CitSciOZ pic.twitter.com/0h8hP0CVbJ
3.44am BST
The president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, is now on television addressing the country. We’ll have a report of her remarks shortly.
3.39am BST
The Chilean police have confirmed that in Illapel, close to where this earthquake struck, a woman has died and seven people have been injured, three of them seriously, according to CNN Chile.
It quotes the national emergency agency saying that first tsunami hit Tongoy, just south of La Serena, around 8.20pm, triggering a nationwide red alert.
The mayor of Coquimbo, Cristian Galleguillos, told CNN Chile that the city is starting to flood and that 95% of residents have lost power. The residents were able to evacuate before the waves started to hit the coast.
Fabrizio Guzmán, communications manager for World Vision in Chile, said the quake struck during rush hour, causing congestion that left many people stranded in the streets as they tried to return home.
3.35am BST
#LTenVivo | Así se vivió en una piscina el terremoto de la zona central de Chile pic.twitter.com/0ZS3RnbaMH http://t.co/du9d5tS3zF
More footage from central Chile, showing pool water swaying heavily. Its unclear whether this was from the initial 8.3 magnitude earthquake of the significant number of aftershocks that have followed.
3.25am BST
Over in New Zealand, the minister for civil defence, Nikki Kaye, has issued this advice for residents in East Cape, Chatham Islands, Coromandel and Banks Peninsula.
1. Stay out of the water (sea, rivers and estuaries, including boating activities)
2. Stay off beaches and shore areas
3.19am BST
This comment from John Kerry’s spokesman, John Kirby.
Our thoughts are with people of #Chile tonight in the wake of powerful earthquake off northern coast. US stands ready to assist as needed.
3.18am BST
RT @chvnoticiascl @chvnoticiascl Primer balance post terremoto ⚠: Dos fallecidos y personas desaparecidas en Tongoy ► http://t.co/lCzM96mEKj
Tongoy is about 50km south of La Serena.
3.07am BST
My colleague Oliver Holmes has alerted me to this tsunami watch just issued for the California coast:
*A TSUNAMI CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG CURRENTS OR WAVES DANGEROUS TO PERSONS IN OR VERY NEAR THE WATER IS EXPECTED.
*CURRENTS MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO SWIMMERS... BOATS... AND COASTAL STRUCTURES AND MAY CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AFTER THE TSUNAMI ARRIVAL.
2.55am BST
Chile’s national emergency office is reporting “medium” aftershocks in Coquimbo, Valparaiso and O’Higgins.
Sismo de mediana intensidad en las regiones de Coquimbo, Valparaíso y O’Higgins. Más información en http://t.co/OFmIDadvHr
Sismo de mediana intensidad en las regiones de Coquimbo, Valparaíso y O’Higgins. Más información en http://t.co/OFmIDadvHr
2.42am BST
This scene from supermarket in La Serena, the capital of the Coquimbo region.
LaSerena, Chile... supermarket shelves rocked by earthquake pic.twitter.com/2xEx01iZSt
2.40am BST
An eerie scene about an hour ago in Valparaiso: tsunami warning sirens wailing across the city.
21:23 @hernancastro_ Así sonaron las alarmas en #Valparaíso @valparaiso @munivalpo pic.twitter.com/vh7lc6bBiy
2.35am BST
Update: Hawaii under a Tsunami Advisory. No major tsunami expected for the state. However, sea level changes and strong currents may occur.
2.34am BST
My colleague in New Zealand, Eleanor Roy, reports that that country’s Ministry of Civil Defence is “in precaution mode”, and has not yet asked the public to stay away from beaches and low-lying areas.
“At the moment any threat is a long way off and would be middle of the night stuff for New Zealand,” Shane Bayley from the Ministry of Civil Defence says.
2.32am BST
Here is footage of a tremor being felt in a supermarket in Valle Lo Campino, a suburb of Santiago.
2.22am BST
UPDATE: 15.1 foot tsunami observed in city of Coquimbo, Chile after powerful earthquake http://t.co/3CX95pB2Ev pic.twitter.com/CXONWahOw1
2.20am BST
Remarkable images are coming out of Chile, as people across the country take to the streets for refuge after an 8.3 magnitude earthquake struck over two hours ago.
2.14am BST
My colleague in Chile, Jonathan Franklin, says the Chilean government has reported a 25-year-old woman has died in Illapel, a town on the coast about 46km from where the earthquake hit.
She was reportedly killed by a falling wall. Another 20 have been injured.
2.11am BST
More out of Coquimbo, where we’ve heard reports of flooding and residents are heading to higher ground.
Nadie va a dormir en Coquimbo esta noche #Chile #Terremoto pic.twitter.com/xQsVH4BaS7
2.05am BST
More dramatic footage of flooding from Avenida Borgono in Concón, a coastal city north of Valparaiso.
1.59am BST
The mayor of Coquimbo has told CNN his town, north of where the quake struck, has begun to flood.
#ANenVivo Avenida del mar en #Coquimbo pic.twitter.com/Hs4mKShnHV → http://t.co/40mNmcDm01
1.52am BST
Jascha Polet, a seismologist at California Polytechnic Poloma, has produced this approximate tsunami travel map showing how far - and in how many hours - the waves produced by this earthquake could travel.
Generated this approximate tsunami travel time map (contours in hours) for Chile quake at http://t.co/mjheuzP2l7 pic.twitter.com/XntOSsNFmq
Civil Defence issued the tsunami warning for the East Cape, Chatham Islands, Coromandel and Banks Peninsula regions a short time ago, warning residents in those areas to stay out of the water and keep away from beaches.
Civil Defence said any tsunami activity may reach the East Cape just after midnight tonight. It has warned that tsunami activity could continue for several hours and the threat should be regarded seriously until the warning was cancelled.
1.48am BST
The Chilean foreign ministry reports that the hospital and prison in Constitución, a town south of Santiago that was flattened during the last major earthquake in 2010, have been evacuated.
1.46am BST
My colleague Uki Goni reports that tremors were felt as far as the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires.
He writes:
The Chilean earthquake set off car alarms in Buenos Aires 690 miles (1,110km) away on the Atlantic side of the South American continent.
Public buildings, such as the buildings of the University of Buenos Aires, were evacuated. Tall buildings in the upscale neighbourhoods of Belgrano and Palermo swayed so much that their dwellers ran out into the streets.
1.41am BST
A tide gauge at Coquimbo, north of where the earthquake struck, shows that two hours after the tremor large waves – up to 4m high – are continuing to hit the shore.
Coquimbo tide gage shows that significant tsunami waves still (hour+ later) arriving at coast after Mw8.3 earthquake pic.twitter.com/qz7QT1AZt5
1.35am BST
No reports yet of any casualties from this earthquake, which struck about two hours ago, but already photographs of the damage are coming through.
Imagen del patio de comidas del mall de La Serena. @christianpino @tvn_gonzalo pic.twitter.com/dzvHtgCFws
Así quedó el patio de comidas del mall de La Serena. #terremoto pic.twitter.com/EABMyH4SFw
Imágenes de un supermercado cerca de La Recova en #LaSerena pic.twitter.com/fgrNiz1abb #Chile
1.24am BST
Here is video from Valparaiso, a large town close to where this earthquake struck, off the central Chilean coast.
FOTO: Evacuación preventiva en #Valparaíso tras fuerte sismo. pic.twitter.com/TQljouawDo
1.22am BST
I’ve just spoken with Jonathan Franklin, the Guardian’s correspondent in Chile, who said he was in the surfing town of Pichilemu south of Santiago “right at sea level when this all happened, so we basically headed to the hills”.
“I was right at one of the biggest surf breaks in Chile, a national holiday is in two days, the entire country is on vacation starting today, so beaches are packed,” he said.
#LTenVivo | Fotos de las evacuaciones preventivas que se registran en la V Región http://t.co/oOSw4zxQ0s pic.twitter.com/K4WJhrHilW
1.02am BST
Here is the latest tsunami warning from the US Geological Survey.
12.52am BST
My colleague Nick Evershed has produced this map showing the epicentre of this 8.3 magnitude earthquake, which struck Chile just over an hour ago.
12.45am BST
An 8.3 magnitude earthquake has struck Chile, causing buildings in the capital Santiago, to sway, and residents to take refuge in the streets.
The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicentre was about 46km west of Illapel, a town about three hours’ drive north of the Chilean capital.
#BREAKING: New video shows powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake in Chile - http://t.co/RFjwjwUiLp (Video: CNN Chile) pic.twitter.com/TloV8vzpxx
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