RP under tsunami alert as quake rocks Chile

MANILA, Philippines - The government yesterday warned coastal communities on the eastern side of the archipelago to prepare for possible evacuation after a powerful earthquake in Chile triggered a tsunami.

Chilean government reported last night at least 78 dead, with the toll likely to rise in the next few days.

Fifty-three nations and territories, including the Philippine, Australia, and Japan were placed by the US geological service under tsunami warning.

The Chile quake was reported 1,000 times stronger than Haiti.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Chile early yesterday morning could generate a destructive tsunami that could hit coastlines on the western Pacific.

“No evacuation order is in effect but communities along the east coast of the country are advised to wait for further information and prepare for possible evacuation,” Phivolcs said in an advisory.

“Coastal areas fronting the Pacific Ocean... should keep watch,” it said.

It said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii would monitor sea levels and report if any tsunami activity was detected.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs said all staff members of the Philippine embassy in Santiago, Chile are safe.

DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said Minister Narciso Castañeda of the Philippine embassy in Chile reported that Ambassador Maria Consuelo Puyat-Reyes and the rest of the embassy staff are safe.

Castañeda’s residence sustained some damage.

“But no one was hurt,” Malaya said.

Castañeda reported that electricity is still down in his district in the capital Santiago.

Malaya said the DFA is awaiting report on other Filipinos in Chile.

Records from the DFA showed there are 89 Filipinos living in Chile. – Pia Lee Brago