Just got back in...What’s the latest death count? Last we heard it was only about 32, which was really hard to believe considering.
Excerpt from 25 minutes ago...Hawaii...CNN
The state’s two U.S. senators, Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka, urged Hawaii residents to remain calm.
“If you live in an evacuation zone I urge you to gather your family and please leave the area,” Inouye said.
“It is important to remain calm, listen to the news, and follow the instructions being issued by state and county civil defense officials.”
Earlier Saturday, people rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food, water and other supplies.
“We got lots of water, we got our batteries, we got toilet paper,” one woman told KITV, while she stood in a line with other shoppers and their carts stuffed with supplies.
Asked if she was scared, another shopper said, “Very, very. We’re from Georgia, so ...”
Businesses in the area said they will be closed all day Saturday, the affiliate reported.
Several tsunami waves have come ashore along the Chilean coast after the earthquake, which killed at least 122 people, U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Victor Sardina told CNN.
He said the largest was recorded at 9 feet near the quake’s epicenter. Another wave, 7.7 feet hit the Chilean town of Talcahuano, according to Eric Lau of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Video from the town showed one car sitting in a large expanse of water.
McCreery said the first tsunami wave would sweep across Hawaii in about 30 minutes.
“And then the hazard will go on for many hours, because these waves, they get reflected off the islands, they wrap around the islands, and it becomes a very complex wave field that persists for quite a while.”
RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary
Summary
A massive magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck near the coast of south-central Chile early on Saturday, shaking buildings and causing blackouts in parts of the capital Santiago, 200 miles away. A tsunami warning was issued for Chile and Peru by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and a tsunami watch was issued for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica. Soon after, the U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had generated a tsunami that may have been destructive along the Chilean coast near the epicenter. The USGS said the earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 34 miles at 3:34 a.m./1:34 EST. Its magnitude was initially reported at 8.3 then 8.5. An earthquake of magnitude 8 or over is classified as a "great" earthquake that can cause "tremendous damage," according to the USGS website. The earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on January 12 was rated at magnitude 7.0. According to a 2002 census, Concepcion is one of the largest cities in Chile with a population of around 670,000. The quake knocked out power in nearby coastal areas. People streamed onto the streets of the Chilean capital, more than 200 miles north of the epicenter, hugging each other and crying, a Reuters witness reported. Buildings shook and there were blackouts in parts of the city. The Reuters witness reported very strong shaking lasting for 10 to 30 seconds. A national emergency official told local radio the government was evaluating damage in and around Concepcion. The quake struck far from Chile's copper-producing northern region. Chile is the world's biggest producer of copper, its main export, producing about 34 percent of world supply of the metal, which is used in electronics, cars and refrigerators. In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake since records dating back to 1900, USGS data shows. The 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island 2,300 miles off Chile's Pacific seaboard and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.