Massive Earthquake in Chile '500 Times More Powerful' Than Haiti's Tumbler

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake has slammed the coast of Chile.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is reported to have said that the massive earthquake in Chile quake is 500 times more powerful than the recent quake in Haiti. The Red Cross is reporting that they know of at least 100 dead, but that is certain to increase.

The AP reports "Tsunami waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of the earthquake. The U.S. West Coast and Alaska, too, were threatened... a huge wave swept into a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles (660 kilometers) off the Chilean coast, President Michelle Bachelet said, but there were no immediate reports of major damage."

The following tsunami warning was issued for Hawaii.

BULLETIN
TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER   6
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
1246 AM HST SAT FEB 27 2010

TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

SUBJECT - TSUNAMI WARNING

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS ISSUED FOR THE STATE OF HAWAII EFFECTIVE AT
1246 AM HST.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

   ORIGIN TIME - 0834 PM HST 26 FEB 2010
   COORDINATES - 36.1 SOUTH   72.6 WEST
   LOCATION    - NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE
   MAGNITUDE   - 8.8  MOMENT

MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY

 GAUGE LOCATION        LAT   LON    TIME        AMPL         PER
 -------------------  ----- ------  -----  ---------------  -----
 IQUIQUE CL           20.2S  70.1W  0906Z   0.27M /  0.9FT  72MIN
 ANTOFAGASTA CL       23.2S  70.4W  0941Z   0.49M /  1.6FT  52MIN
 ARICA CL             18.5S  70.3W  1007Z   0.94M /  3.1FT  44MIN
 DART LIMA 32412      18.0S  86.4W  0941Z   0.24M /  0.8FT  36MIN
 CALDERA CL           27.1S  70.8W  0843Z   0.45M /  1.5FT  20MIN
 TALCAHUANO CL        36.7S  73.4W  0653Z   2.34M /  7.7FT  88MIN
 COQUIMBO CL          30.0S  71.3W  0852Z   1.32M /  4.3FT  30MIN
 CORRAL CL            39.9S  73.4W  0739Z   0.90M /  2.9FT  16MIN
 SAN FELIX CL         26.3S  80.1W  0815Z   0.53M /  1.7FT  08MIN
 VALPARAISO CL        33.0S  71.6W  0708Z   1.29M /  4.2FT  20MIN

 LAT  - LATITUDE (N-NORTH, S-SOUTH)
 LON  - LONGITUDE (E-EAST, W-WEST)
 TIME - TIME OF THE MEASUREMENT (Z IS UTC IS GREENWICH TIME)
 AMPL - TSUNAMI AMPLITUDE MEASURED RELATIVE TO NORMAL SEA LEVEL.
        IT IS ...NOT... CREST-TO-TROUGH WAVE HEIGHT.
        VALUES ARE GIVEN IN BOTH METERS(M) AND FEET(FT).
 PER  - PERIOD OF TIME IN MINUTES(MIN) FROM ONE WAVE TO THE NEXT.

EVALUATION

 A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE ALONG
 COASTLINES OF ALL ISLANDS IN THE STATE OF HAWAII. URGENT ACTION
 SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY.

 A TSUNAMI IS A SERIES OF LONG OCEAN WAVES. EACH INDIVIDUAL WAVE
 CREST CAN LAST 5 TO 15 MINUTES OR MORE AND EXTENSIVELY FLOOD
 COASTAL AREAS. THE DANGER CAN CONTINUE FOR MANY HOURS AFTER THE
 INITIAL WAVE AS SUBSEQUENT WAVES ARRIVE. TSUNAMI WAVE HEIGHTS
 CANNOT BE PREDICTED AND THE FIRST WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST.
 TSUNAMI WAVES EFFICIENTLY WRAP AROUND ISLANDS. ALL SHORES ARE AT
 RISK NO MATTER WHICH DIRECTION THEY FACE. THE TROUGH OF A TSUNAMI
 WAVE MAY TEMPORARILY EXPOSE THE SEAFLOOR BUT THE AREA WILL
 QUICKLY FLOOD AGAIN. EXTREMELY STRONG AND UNUSUAL NEARSHORE
 CURRENTS CAN ACCOMPANY A TSUNAMI. DEBRIS PICKED UP AND CARRIED
 BY A TSUNAMI AMPLIFIES ITS DESTRUCTIVE POWER. SIMULTANEOUS HIGH
 TIDES OR HIGH SURF CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE TSUNAMI HAZARD.

 THE ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME IN HAWAII OF THE FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE IS

                     1119 AM HST SAT 27 FEB 2010

MESSAGES WILL BE ISSUED HOURLY OR SOONER AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by this disaster.