A major earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck off the coast of Chile on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami that hit the northern part of the country and a tsunami warning for all of South and Central America's Pacific coast, according to the Associated Press.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was only 6.2 miles below the seabed, which is very shallow, and struck at 6:46 p.m. local time 62 miles northwest of the mining port of Iquique, near the Peruvian border, the AP reported.
The Chilean navy said the first tsunami wave had hit the coast within 45 minutes of the quake, according to the AP.
"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, the AP reported.
The warning said that aside from Chile, the coasts of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua were also at risk, according to the AP.
A tsunami of up to 6.3 feet could strike the town of Pisagua, Chile, within 44 minutes of the quake, it said, the AP reported.
Chile's Emergency Office said a large tsunami wave was expected to hit the island of Juan Fernandez out in the Pacific just before midnight local time, according to the AP.
Chile's emergency service reported some road blocked by landslides caused by the quake, but said no injuries had been reported so far, the AP reported.
The strongest earthquake ever recorded on Earth also happened in Chile - a magnitude-9.5 tremor in 1960 that killed more than 5,000 people, according to the AP.
