An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, triggering tsunami warnings along much of the Pacific basin.
There were early reports of about 120 deaths, with the toll expected to rise. The quake struck at 3:34 a.m. local time and was centered about 70 miles from Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city, at a depth of 22 miles. It downed buildings and houses in Santiago, about 200 miles away.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Chile and Peru, and a less-urgent tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica. Hawaii sounded tsunami warning sirens as well.
According to CNN, the earthquake in Chile was more powerful than the 7.0 quake that struck Haiti on Jan 12, killing at least 230,000.
International Medical Corps was on the ground in Haiti, treating patients, within 22 hours of that disaster. Today, teams are treating 1,000 patients a day throughout the earthquake-affected areas.