Scroll

18 Sep 2015 / Chile

State of emergency declared

Chile's government has declared a state of emergency in the central region struck by Wednesday’s earthquake, the biggest to hit the country since 2010 and the most powerful in the world this year.

The 8.3-magnitude tremor struck off the coast of Coquimbo, 46km west of Illapel, at 19:54 local time (22:54 GMT) on Wednesday evening.

Tsunami waves hit the coast at Coquimbo and further out from the epicentre, with waves half a metre higher than usual as far north as La Punta. Small tsunamis were also reported along the west coast of the USA and Canada, as far away as Alaska.

A powerful aftershock estimated to be close to 8 on the Richter scale shook the central part of Chile yesterday afternoon (17 September). All ships were again ordered to leave port ahead of a possible tsunami.

All terminals remain closed until the authorities evaluate the situation. Currently, only pilots’ embarkation and STS lightering are permitted at Quintero.

For information about operations in Chile, and elsewhere in the Americas, contact the GAC Hub Agency Center in Houston at [email protected]

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

Make an
enquiry

enquiry icon

Find your
country

country icon