A strong 8.2 earthquake [1]hit northern Chile at 20:46 and generated a tsunami that triggered the alarms across the country as this video shows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg6du5bhVqE&feature=youtu.be
The epicenter was located 89kms Southeast of Cuya, in front of Tarapaca's coast.
Mapa: Epicentro del terremoto magnitud 8.2 en el norte de Chile pic.twitter.com/dENbEwaeoS [2]
— Breaking News Chile (@BreakingNewsChi) April 2, 2014 [3]
Map: Epicenter of the 8.2 magnitude earthquake in Northern Chile
The government asked for an immediate evacuation of the entire coastline as the first waves [4] hit Iquique.
In this Storify collection [5] by Nacion.cl, there are several pictures of people moving to higher ground and some damages caused by the earthquake.
Some Twitter users shared important information, including the government's Emergency National Office (ONEMI) [6]:
Durante una Alerta de Tsunami realiza la evacuación a pie y dirígete al punto de encuentro más cercano.
— onemichile (@onemichile) April 2, 2014 [7]
During a Tsunami Alert, evacuate by foot and go the nearest meeting point.
No se olviden de sus mascotas, ellos deben evacuar con ustedes. porfavor #AlertaTsunami [8] #Tsunami [9] #Terremoto [10] #Iquique [11] #Arica [12]
— Verónica Rivera E. (@Vero_Animalista) April 2, 2014 [13]
Don't forget your pets, they should be evacuated with you. Please #AlertaTsunami #Tsunami #Terremoto [earthquake] #Iquique #Arica
Others compared the government's response to the one during a major earthquake in 2010:
Aprendieron de sus errores: alerta de tsunami, evacuacion y milicos a las calles. Al fin se pusieron los pantalones
— Hugo Alcivar (@hugoalc) April 2, 2014 [14]
They learned from their mistakes: tsunami alert, evacuation and the army to the streets. Finally, they put their pants on.
This is a developing story, watch this space for more details.