Latest More than a million people had to be evacuated after the earthquake struck at 7. It was the sixth most powerful in the history of geologically volatile Chile and the strongest anywhere in the world this year, officials said. The quake triggered tsunami warnings from California to New Zealand.
But later Chile said they did not expect a tsunami and many of those evacuated to their homes. The earthquake's epicentre was 34 miles west of Illapel, a town of 30, people. The tremors were felt as far as Rio de Janeiro and at least one school in New Zealand had to be evacuated. Operations were suspended at two major copper mines operated by Codelco and UK-listed Antofagasta. You can read what happened in full here. Interactive: Tsunami travel times.
Read her story in full here. We left home because it shook a lot, my light was swinging, I was really scared and I ended up thinking it was a structural problem in the building. There were other reports of tremors in Santos on the coast. Interactive: Chile earthquake. Operations had to be suspended at two major copper mines operated by Codelco and UK-listed Antofagasta.
Together they generate a yearly capacity of more than , tonnes. Their closure drove prices on the London Metal Exchange to two-month highs in early Asian trading as worries about supply disruptions offset lingering concerns about demand from China amid copper's longest rout in years.
Read the full story from the Telegraph's business desk here. A watch means that a tsunami is possible, but it doesn't mean it will happen, said Chevy Chevalier, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, told Associated Press. A warning means it's happening right now or it's imminent. A tsunami warning was last issued for Hawaii in , after a powerful earthquake off the coast of Canada.
