| USA TODAY | - |
BUENOS
AIRES - Ignacio Hernández was sitting in front of the Pacific Ocean in
Reñaca beach, in Vina del Mar, a town about 90 miles north of the
capital Santiago, when Chile's 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck.
"I could see how strong the waves were," he told USA TODAY. "I also saw electric cables hitting one another and then power cuts in neighboring buildings. Within two minutes, there was no light and people started to panic."
Ignacio then received an alert from SHOA, the hydrographic and oceanography service of the Chilean Navy, on his mobile phone. It advised people to evacuate the coastal areas, head towards Chile's inland, and stay calm because of a risk of tsunami.
"I kept my calm but things were of great concern. The traffic was completely blocked, even the exit doors. Many areas of the town's center were left without electricity and there were constant alerts of evacuation with speakers," he says.
Ignacio felt slightly safer as he was getting close to Alessandri, about two miles away from the beach. He eventually reached his destination.
The South American nation is one of the most seismically active locations on the planet.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that tsunami waves measuring up to three meters higher than the tide level could hit some of the Chilean coasts. "Widespread hazardous tsunami waves are possible," the center reported.
The alerts of possible tsunami extend to Hawaii and New Zealand.
Many Chileans were on their way or already on the coast, ahead of a week of national holidays.
In Valparaiso, Chile's legislative seaside capital, tsunami warning sirens wailed.
In Santiago, Alvaro Hernandez's heart skipped a beat when he felt the earth moving, as he was watching television with his wife and two children Amanda and Benjamin.
"During a minute only, we felt the Earth moving with the same intensity. Some glasses and boxes on our top shelves fell. If it had lasted 10 more seconds, our TV screen would have broken into pieces on the floor," he tells USA Today.
He then left several strong aftershocks. Since Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake in February 2010, the family always keeps extra water and food supplies for security. The 2010 quake killed over 500 people.
"We felt very frightened but it's more quiet now. We don't know what to expect," says the 32-year old Chilean man who lives in the Providencia neighborhood of Santiago.
"At first, we thought it would be something smooth since we live in a seismic zone. But then, it gained strength and things started following on the floor," says Sofia Silva San Martín, a Santiago resident.
She was chatting with her family in the kitchen, as they were making national dishes for the upcoming celebrations.
In Argentina's capital in Buenos Aires – about 1,500 kilometers away from the earthquake's epicenter - some public buildings, like the University of Buenos Aires, were evacuated. Some people also ran in the streets of the northern Belgrano and Palermo neighborhoods, where there are taller buildings.
The tremor was felt the most in the Argentine city of Mendoza, close to Chile.
"An earthquake of this magnitude in a coastal zone could often lead to a tsunami but not necessarily. It also depends on other factors, namely the type of oceanic plaques and the displacement generated by the plaques," explains Renzo Furlani, Independent geoscientist in the San Juan province of Argentina.
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