Tsunami fears abound as massive 8.8 earthquake kills dozens in Chile

CNN is reporting 78 people dead from the 8.8 earthquake that struck off the coast of Chile this morning (February 27, 2010) at 1:34 EST in Maule (about 200 miles southwest of Chile’s capital Santiago.)

Eight aftershocks were experienced in the hours after the quake, including one that registered at a 6.9 magnitude, and a tsunami is feared. To get a perspective on how big a 8.8 earthquake is, the Haiti earthquake was a 7.

Movements from the earthquake were felt far into Argentina, and if a tsunami forms it may affect the entire Pacific coastline. Right now people in California and Alaska are under an advisory to move to higher ground.

There is a tsunami warning for Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Central America and Pacific island nations.

This was the biggest earthquake to strike Chile since 1960, when a 9.5 magnitude quake (the greatest in the 20th century) occurred in Valdiva, killing 1655 people.