Quake of 8.2 magnitude raised Tsunami warning for Latin American coast

Tsunami warning was triggered on 1 April 2014 for the Latin America’s entire Pacific coastline after an earthquake of 8.2 magnitude struck off the northern Chile. The US Geological Survey has said that the quake was very shallow, only 10 kilometers below the seabed, striking 86 kilometer north-west of the mining area of Iquique.

After the earthquake, some areas of Chile have been struck by waves of up to 2 meter (about 6 feet) leading to power cuts, landslides and fires. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (TWC) said that the coasts of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua are at the risk of tsunami.

Following the warning, the Chilean authorities have ordered speedy evacuation of coastal areas. Reports of landslides hitting the highways are also there.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (TWC)
UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission established the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in the mid-1960s.