A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 has struck central Chile, the country’s largest in 25 years.
The quake struck at 0634 GMT about 91km (56 miles) north-east of the city of Concepcion and 317km south-west of the capital, Santiago. The BBC’s Daniel Schweimler is in neighbouring Argentina, where the quake was also felt. He said communication systems have been hit making it difficult to contact emergency services.
In the early morning, a powerful 7 magnitude earthquake has hit Okinawa, Japan. A tsunami warning was in effect for Japan after the massive earthquake that struck in the early morning hours of Saturday February 27 2010 local time. The US Geological Survey, who monitor earthquakes world wide said the quake read an initial reading of 7.3 on the Richter scale. The Japan earthquake authorities soon after said a strong 7-magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s Ryukyu Islands. A Pacific wide tsunami warming went into effect immediately after the Japan 7 magnitude Okinawa earthquake news hit. The location of the potful Japan earthquake was just 85 km (53 miles) E (99°) from Naha, Okinawa, Japan.