Ecuador announced that it will evacuate...
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Chile in the early hours of Saturday. The tremor occurred some 89 kilometers (55.3 miles) to the north of Chile"s second largest city Concepcion, some 341 kilometers (212 miles) from the capital of Santiago. The death toll is estimated at over 120.
Officials have reiterated a warning for the Hawaiian Islands as they are likely to be hit by the tsunami, where evacuation sirens were scheduled to begin sounding at 6 a.m. local time [16:00 GMT].
The evacuation of residents to higher grounds on the Hawaiian Islands has already begun and authorities have closed all of the beaches. Buses are cruising the streets and picking people up free of charge to deliver them to safer zones. The first of many tsunami waves is expected to hit Hawaii shortly after 11:00 a.m. local time [21:00 GMT].
The tsunami wave (or waves) is expected to have a height of approximately 16 feet and each wave will last from five to fifteen minutes.