Santiago, 27 February 2010: A massive earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale struck Chile on early Saturday morning, 27th February 2010 at around 3.34 am. The quake hit 325 kilometres southwest of Santiago, the capital of Chile and centred at the coast of Maule. The massive earthquake destroyed buildings leaving much of the central part of the country without power. At least 78 people have been reported killed by the earthquake. However, the death toll is expected to rise. President Michelle Bache let said there were 78 confirmed deaths and that more were possible. The President further urged people to stay calm. "With a quake of this size we undoubtedly can’t rule out more deaths and probably injuries," she said.

The United States of America has issued tsunami warning for Chile and its immediate neighbours. Japan has warned that a tsunami might hit the entire Pacific basin. "Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it’s like the end of the world," one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged homes and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital.

Local television stations said there was damage to buildings in the historic centre of Santiago, which lies about 200 miles north of the epicentre, and a highway bridge collapsed near the capital. In the moments after the quake, people streamed onto the streets of the capital, hugging each other and crying.

There were blackouts in parts of Santiago and communications were still down in the area closest to the epicenter. Telephone and power lines were down, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the damage close to the epicenter.

Chile sits on the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean’s "rim of fire" and astride a massive fault line. In May, 1960, the largest earthquake recorded in the 20th century hit off the coast of central Chile. The quake, which had a magnitude of 9.5, killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. It also triggered a tsunami that reached Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines, killing dozens in each place and destroying buildings and infrastructure.

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People observed a highway and cars destroyed Saturday by an earthquake in Concepcion, some 62 miles south of the epicenter.

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About 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes take place in the volatile 40,000km arc, which stretches from New Zealand, along the eastern edge of Asia, north across the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and south along the coast of North and South America.

The extreme seismic and volcanic activity is a result of movements and collisions between the tectonic plates above and below the ocean. This morning’s quake occured on the border between the South American Plate, which is moving west, and the submerged Nazca Plate, which is very gradually sliding under it. However, while seismic tremors and earthquakes in the region are common, geologists say ones of today’s magnitude are rare.

Dr Brian Baptie of the British Geological Survey said: “In global terms this is a very rare quake." Chile has experienced some very big quakes in the past. It was about 124 miles north east of the largest earthquake ever recorded - 9.5 - in 1960, which resulted in a destructive tsunami that killed many thousands of people around the Pacific.”

The epicentre of today’s quake was located under the sea floor and created a sudden displacement of huge quantities of water which radiated outwards in a wave. Dr Baptie said: “Tsunami waves in the deep ocean travel about the same speed as a jet plane and would take about 15 hours to reach Hawaii and about 20 hours to reach the other side of the Pacific.” Chile also faces the prospect of more aftershocks, according to Dr Baptie. “There have been many aftershocks from this event so far of magnitude 6 and higher.

The bigger the quake, the bigger the aftershocks. “They will decrease with time after the main shock but they could carry on for some time.” The devastating tsunami which hit Asia in 2004 measured 9.3 on the Richter scale and was the second largest ever recorded after the 1960 Chile quake.