1 million people evacuate as quake rattles North Chile

1 million people evacuate as quake rattles North Chile

By The Associated PressPublished: September 17, 2015, 5:49 am 

ILLAPEL, Chile (AP) — Thousands of residents of this small city in northern Chile were sleeping outside Thursday after a powerful earthquake destroyed their homes, forced more than 1 million to evacuate and killed at least eight people in the quake-prone South American nation.

Several coastal towns were flooded from small tsunami waves set off by late Wednesday’s quake, which shook the Earth so strongly that rumbles were felt across South America.

The magnitude-8.3 quake lasted for three minutes, causing buildings to sway in the capital, Santiago, and prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning for the Andean nation’s entire Pacific coast. People sought safety in the streets of inland cities, while others along the shore took to their cars to race to higher ground.