Huge Chile Quake Kills 300 ; Temblor with a Magnitude of 8.8 Destroys Homes, Bridges and Unleashes Tsunami Waves

Summary

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One of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded jolted central Chile on Saturday, killing at least 300 people, smashing homes and bridges and unleashing tsunami waves that coursed across the Pacific, prompting alerts in Hawaii and dozens of countries.

Waves generated by the 8.8-magnitude quake in the coastal South American nation started to smack onto Hawaiian beaches at about noon local time, a full 16 hours after the quake, but they were smaller than the 6-foot monsters scientists had feared. The water surged more than 3 feet in Kahului Bay in Maui before the tsunami warning was canceled in the afternoon, officials said.

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Huge Chile Quake Kills 300 ; Temblor with a Magnitude of 8.8 Destroys Homes, Bridges and Unleashes Tsunami Waves

There were no reports of flooding or damage.

By Saturday evening, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had lifted the tsunami warning for almost the entire Pacific.

"It's a big relief," said Jenifer Rhoades, the National Weather Service's tsunami program coordinator. "It was pretty scary. We're glad it turned out to be an even...

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