Locals take refuge at the city stadium following a tsunami alert after a powerful magnitude-8.0 earthquake hit off Chile's Pacific coast on April 1.(Photo: Aldo Solimano, AFP/Getty Images)
People embrace on the upper floor of an apartment building located a few blocks from the coast where they gathered to avoid a possible tsunami after an earthquake in Iquique, Chile, Tuesday.(Photo: Cristian Viveros, AP)
A magnitude-8.2 earthquake struck Tuesday evening off northern Chile, triggering a tsunami warning for the South American coast.
The powerful quake's epicenter was located in the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles northwest of Iquique, Chile, and 12.5 miles deep, the United States Geological Survey reported. The quake occurred at 8:46 p.m. local time (7:46 p.m. ET).
A tsunami warning was issued for the coasts of Chile, Peru and Ecuador, while high-wave watches were posted for residents of coastal Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Waves about 6 feet high hit cities along the northern coast, the Associated Press reported. There were no immediate reports of possible damage or casualties.
NOAA added that Hawaii could be put on warning or watch status as the quake and tsunami are evaluated. The earliest that waves might reach the island would be about 3:25 a.m. Wednesday (9:25 a.m. ET).
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