智利大地震已有78人死亡
The quake, which registered at magnitude 8.8 on the Richter scale, caused major structural damage to buildings in Concepcíon, which has a population of one million.
The shock wave also triggered a potentially deadly tsunami which has already hit land at the southern Juan Fernandez Islands, about 400 miles off the coast of Chile, where it was reported to have caused "serious damage".
The first images broadcast from Concepcíon, located some 70 miles southwest of the epicentre of the earthquake, showed a building consumed by a massive blaze.
Streets were shown full of rubble and broken glass and patients were pictured being evacuated from the local hospital as emergency crisis centres were set up in the streets.
Others were pictured wandering dazed amongst the debris, wrapped in blankets, and covered in dirt.
Entire buildings in the historical centre of Concepcíon had collapsed, cars flattened and bridges stretching across the Biobio river which dissects the city, brought down.
Dramatic images broadcast on local television channels showed craters and fissures had opened up in the earth swallowing cars and parts of buildings.
Rescue teams were frantically trying to reach people reportedly trapped in buildings in Concepcion. Local media reported isolated incidents of looting from pharmacies and commercial centres in the city.
Several high-rise residential buildings in the city were pictured with the facades destroyed leaving interior rooms open to the elements.
Michelle Bachelet, the Chilean President, confirmed 78 people had been killed.
She declared a "state of catastrophe" and said: “With the quake of this magnitude, we cannot rule out other casualties.
"People should remain calm. We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have."
In capital Santiago, masonry crashed into the streets from buildings and the city was plunged into darkness by power failures.
Thousands of people fled their homes when the earthquake struck at 3.34am local time, gathering in the streets with many still clothed in pyjamas. Images showed a road bridge that had collapsed trapping cars beneath it.
The major quake lasted one minute and was swiftly followed by a series of aftershocks ranging from 5.6 to 6.9 on the magnitude scale.
One man told local a television news channel in the city of Temuco: "Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world."
The earthquake struck 60 miles north-west of the Chilean town of Chillan, a spokesman for the US Geological Survey said.
Vina del Mar, one of Chile’s most fashionable beach resorts was said to be badly hit in the quake and ensuing aftershocks.
Several revelers reportedly died after they were struck by falling rubble as they left a nightclub on the seafront in the early hours of Saturday.
The coastal city, 45 miles north-west of Santiago, was packed with weekenders visiting the resort for the final days of the summer holiday.
Authorities said they had still to make contact with many outlying areas. Communication had been made difficult after telephone lines were downed across the country, they said.
Chilean officials said the worst affected town appeared to be Parral, close to the epicentre.
Santiago, 200 miles from the epicentre, suffered severe damage, with buildings and bridges destroyed and power-black city’s international airport remained closed after sustaining damage.
Chilean television said there had been a fire involving chemicals in the town of Colina, north of Santiago, but that it was now under control.
Teams of firefighters and police marched through the streets of Santiago urging calm and issuing instructions through megaphones.
One Spanish visitor who was asleep in his room on the 17th floor of the Crown Palace hotel in Santiago told Spanish radio Cadena SER how he was woken by the earthquake.
“It was a pretty intense shaking,” said Victor Garcia de la Concha.
“The bedside lamp, which was quite a weight fell from the table and shattered. The drawers in the dresser in front of the bed were rattled open.”
He reported that the building had not been damaged but guests were evacuated from their rooms and told to gather in the hotel lobby.
Initial reports indicate that the quake could be felt across Chile and also sent tremors to several provinces in central Argentina including parts of the capital, Buenos Aires, 1,000 miles away from the epicentre.
In 1960, Chile was hit by the world's biggest earthquake since records dating back to 1900.
In that disaster, a 9.5 magnitude quake devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines.
Today's magnitude 8.8 quake is classified as a "great" earthquake that can cause "tremendous damage," according to the US Geological Survey.
The earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on January 12 was rated at magnitude 7.0, while the one that struck Indonesia on Boxing Day 2004 measured magnitude 9.2.
智利当地时间27日凌晨发生里氏8.8级地震，截至目前已有78人死亡。由于大地震导致首都圣地亚哥部分地区和震区的电力及通信中断，给救援工作带来了巨大的困难。
据美国地质勘探局报告，地震发生在当地时间27日凌晨3时34分，震中位于距离智利首都圣地亚哥西南320公里的马乌莱附近海域，震源深度63公里。同时，震中距离智利第二大城市、拥有50万人口的康塞普西翁市仅有89公里。
据当地媒体报道，大地震发生在深夜，首都圣地亚哥被强震惊醒的人们纷纷跑出家门，由于地震后已经至少发生了13次震级在5.2－6.9级的强烈余震，惊恐的人们不敢回家，导致街道上挤满了人。目前，强震造成的死亡人数已经上升到78人。
强震导致包括首都圣地亚哥部分地区和震区停电，通信中断。大部分通往康塞普西翁市和其所在的比奥比奥省的公路、桥梁交通因地震中断，给正在进行的救援工作造成了巨大的困难。而由于首都断电，所有路口的交通灯无法起到作用，使首都交通陷入了混乱。智利民航部门宣布，首都圣地亚哥国际机场的一些设施受到了损害，部分控制塔倒塌，因此机场已经关闭，所有航班均已取消，一些正飞往圣地亚哥的航班迫降在阿根廷首都布宜诺斯艾利斯。另外，圣地亚哥一家化工厂在震后还发生了火灾。
智利总统巴切莱特正在赶赴灾区，此前她宣布智利已进入“灾难状态”，并派遣工作组前往震区恢复通信和电力。在地震发生后召集的紧急会议上，巴切莱特表示，“毫无疑问，遇到这种级别的地震，死亡人数将更多”，智利政府正在对地震造成的损害进行评估。她同时呼吁民众保持冷静，不要在马路上乱走，以免受到伤害。
强烈地震还波及了邻国阿根廷，首都布宜诺斯艾利斯有明显震感。该国西部门多萨省等部分地区供电中断，部分居民感到恐慌，跑出家门，目前还没有阿根廷方面关于人员伤亡和财产损失的报告。
地震之后，各国地震专家都警告注意地震引发的海啸。正如专家预见，强震造成的海啸已经袭击了智利位于南太平洋距智利本土600公里处的胡安·费尔南德斯群岛，那里有一个居住着600多居民的村庄，海啸造成了当地巨大的财产损失。位于夏威夷的太平洋海啸预警中心也已将海啸预警范围扩大至整个中美洲以及太平洋的53个国家和诸多地区。
智利东倚安第斯山脉，西临太平洋海沟，根据现代板块学说的观点，智利是太平洋板块与南美洲板块相互碰撞的俯冲地带，处在环太平洋火山活动带上。这种特殊的地质结构，使智利处于极不稳定的地表之上。自古以来，这里火山不断喷发，地震连连发生，海啸频频出现，灾难时常降临。美国地质勘探局资料显示，1960年智利曾发生过里氏9.5级地震，是1900年以来有记录的最强烈地震，当时的地震也伴发了强烈海啸，造成1600多人丧生，200万人无家可归，这是世界上影响范围最大、也是最严重的一次海啸灾难。在这次大海啸的灾难中，除智利首当其冲是受害国之外，还涉及到相当广泛的地区。太平洋东西两岸，如美国夏威夷群岛、日本、俄罗斯、中国、菲律宾等许多国家与地区，都受到了不同程度的影响，有的国家与地区的损失也相当惨重。因此，27日的地震发生后，菲律宾、新西兰、日本和澳大利亚也都发布了海啸预警，海啸究竟会引发一场什么样的灾难目前还尚不可知，不过，如果相关国家作好防灾准备，相信会将这场灾难造成的损失降到最低。
