At least five killed as powerful quake hits off coast of Chile
(Agencies) Updated: 2015-09-17 07:36Aftershock felt
Strong aftershocks continued to rattle central Chile, a relatively uninhabited, agricultural region south of the country's mining belt.
"It's going to be a long night," said Ronny Perez in the inland Chilean city of Illapel, about 46 km (28 miles) from the epicenter, which was without electricity or drinking water.
A 26-year-old woman was killed by a collapsing wall in Illapel and another person died from a heart attack in Santiago, according to media reports.
The coastal town of Coquimbo was hit by waves of up to 4.5 meters (15 feet) after the earthquake, Chile's navy said.
"We're going through a really grave situation with the tsunami. We have residential neighborhoods that have flooded .... The ocean has reached the downtown area," said Coquimbo Mayor Cristian Galleguillos.
Local residents reported looting of evacuated houses in Los Vilos, another seaside town, its mayor said.
Chile is due to celebrate its national holiday on Friday, but roads were cut off and public transport canceled between Santiago and the north, local media reported, raising the specter of travel chaos as families try to gather.
The quake is the latest natural disaster to roil mining in the resource-rich South American country, which accounts for a third of global copper output.
State copper miner Codelco said it had suspended mining operations at its Andina mine and had evacuated workers from its Ventanas smelter. Antofagasta said it had halted operations at its flagship Los Pelambres copper mine and would wait until daybreak to assess damage.
Active quake zone
Chile, which runs along a highly seismic and volcanic zone where tectonic plates meet, is no stranger to earthquakes.
In 2014, an 8.2-magnitude quake struck near the northern city of Iquique, and four years earlier an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in central-southern Chile triggered a massive tsunami, and more than 500 people were killed.
In the hours following that quake, President Bachelet and other government officials misjudged the extent of damage and declined offers of international aid. That delayed the flow of assistance to disaster areas, leaving many survivors feeling they had been abandoned by the government.
Compounding matters, the Chilean navy's catastrophe-alert system failed to warn the population of impending tsunamis, leaving hundreds who survived the initial quake to be engulfed by massive waves that followed.
Bachelets government was also slow to prevent looting following the quake. Its failings hit her high approval ratings at the end of her presidential term, although she remained popular and was elected again in 2013.
