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Emergency declared in Chile as quake death toll rises

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The death toll in the Chilean earthquake disaster has risen to at least 11 as the country’s government declared a state of emergency.


One million people were evacuated from their homes when the 8.3-magnitude quake hit the central region of the country on Wednesday night local time.


The quake – the strongest in the world this year – lasted for more than three minutes and there were dozens of aftershocks.


Tsunami alerts were issued for the US west coast, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Japan, Fiji and other Pacific islands.


Waves of 15ft hit the shore in the Chilean coastal town of Coquimbo, and small tsunami waves were reported as far away as Alaska.


Tsunami waves also hit the coast further north and south of the quake’s epicentre, with waves half a metre higher than usual as far north as La Punta, the BBC reported.


Small tsunami waves were felt along the west coast of the US and Canada. A 3ft wave also reached Hawaii.

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