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SANTIAGO, Chile — A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake capable of tremendous damage struck central Chile early Saturday, shaking the capital for a minute and a half and setting off a tsunami.
Buildings collapsed and phone lines and electricity were down, making the extent of the damage difficult to determine. At least 6 people were killed, President Michele Bachelet said.
“We have had a huge earthquake,” Bachelet said, speaking from an emergency response center in an appeal for Chileans to remain calm. “We’re doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately.”
Bachelet said early reports were that six people had been killed, and “without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths.” She urged people to avoid traveling in the dark, since traffic lights are down, to avoid causing more fatalities.
The quake hit at 3:34 a.m. (0634 GMT; 1:34 a.m. EST) and was centered 325 kilometers southwest of the capital, Santiago, at a depth of 35 kilometers the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The epicenter was just 115 kilometers from Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river, and 60 miles from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski resorts that was destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.
An Associated Press Television News cameraman said some buildings have collapsed in Santiago, where power was out in parts of the city. An important church was among the buildings that came down in the central city of Providencia, where window glass shattered into the streets and people ran from multistory buildings, according to TV Chile.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Chile and Peru, and a less-urgent tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica. It said a tsunami could also hit Hawaii later in the day.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
