A magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile on Wednesday, killing at least five people and slamming powerful waves into coastal towns.
More than a million people were forced from their homes as the government ordered the evacuation of coastal areas, anxious to avoid a repeat of a quake disaster in 2010 when authorities were slow to warn of a tsunami that killed hundreds.
"It's been awful. We ran out of the house with our grandchildren and now we are on a hill hoping it will be over soon," said Maria Angelica Leiva from the coastal town of Navidad.
"It is all very dark, and we just hope the sea hasn't reached our house," she said.
The quake and heavy waves caused flooding in coastal towns, damaged buildings and knocked out power in the worst hit areas of central Chile and shook buildings in the capital city of Santiago about 280 kilometres to the south.
President Michelle Bachelet said she planned to travel to the areas worst affected by the quake, the biggest to hit the
world's top copper producer since 2010.
