One of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history rocked Chile on Saturday, killing at least 300 people, toppling buildings and freeways, and sending sirens wailing thousands of miles away as governments scrambled to protect coastal residents from the ensuing tsunami.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet declared parts of the country "catastrophe zones" in the wake of the 8.8 magnitude quake, which was centered about 70 miles offshore from the port city of Concepcion.
With images still fresh of Haiti's devastation from an earthquake last month, the world woke up to new disaster -- and fears of another catastrophic toll. But the Chile quake struck at a relatively deep 21.7 miles, and building codes are strict in a country that 50 years ago was struck by the biggest earthquake ever recorded: a magnitude 9.5.
Nonetheless, Bachelet said in an address to the nation Saturday night that a million buildings had been damaged. And with television footage showing topsy-turvy structures, severed bridges and highways whose pavement looked as if it had been tilled by some giant farm machine, the death toll was expected to rise.
Concepcion resident Alberto Rozas said his building began to shake and he grabbed his daughter in terror amid shattering glass and an ungodly roar.
"It was awful," said Rozas, who lives next to a 13-story apartment building that was reduced to rubble. "The only thing I did right was throw clothes on the floor so my daughter and I could escape without ruining our feet. But we're still covered with cuts."
As a flurry of 30 aftershocks, some measuring more than magnitude 6, continued to strike the region all day, Chile's Interior Ministry said tsunami surges reaching heights of 10 feet hit the nation's Juan Fernandez Islands, leaving three people dead and 13 others missing.
Memories of the tsunami that was unleashed on Southeast Asia and across the Indian Ocean five years ago haunted governments across the Pacific on Saturday. In Hawaii, 100,000 people were evacuated to higher ground, and the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet sent four warships steaming out to sea as a precaution against damage near shore at Pearl Harbor.
A series of small, 3-foot tsunamis hit Hawaii's Big Island shortly after 1 p.m., churning up sediment but causing no apparent damage. Early Sunday, Japan's Meteorological Agency warned that a "major" tsunami of up to 10 feet could hit northern coastal areas.
The U.S. moved briskly to offer assistance to Chile. President Obama spoke with Bachelet to offer condolences, praising the country's quick response and reiterating the United States' readiness to aid in rescue and recovery.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she planned to leave Sunday for the region. "Our hemisphere comes together in times of crisis, and we will stand side by side with the people of Chile in this emergency," she said.
Some observers, however, worried that international relief efforts could be stretched thin, with the response to the Haiti earthquake, which left 215,000 people dead and a million homeless, still ongoing.
In Chile, television images showed collapsed highway overpasses and buildings in southern Santiago, the capital, and in Concepcion, 300 miles to the south. Bachelet was reported to be headed to the region to inspect the damage.
President-elect Sebastian Pinera, who takes office in two weeks, told reporters that in addition to scores of deaths, the country had suffered serious damage to its infrastructure, including highways, airports and housing.
"This earthquake has delivered a tremendous blow to Chilean society," Pinera said, adding he would request emergency funds totaling 2% of the budget to help rebuild. "Our government will do everything for the recovery and to accelerate reconstruction."
Santiago's international airport will be closed at least through Monday, officials said. Although the runways are in good condition, the control tower and customs facilities suffered extensive damage, officials said.
Several key structures in Santiago, including ministry buildings, suffered heavy damage, said Education Minister Monica Jimenez, who added that government employees would be asked to stay home Monday as officials assesses structural safety. Public schools that were to have reopened Monday after summer vacation will now reopen March 8.
The quake, lasting 30 seconds or more, struck about 3:30 a.m. local time Saturday. Santiago residents, many of them in their pajamas, poured into the streets.
A chemical fire at a factory raged out of control and there was smoke in much of the city. Telephone and electric power were still out in one-third of the capital as of the afternoon and communication was problematic because of the collapse of several cellphone towers.
Santiago faces possible mass transit chaos next week, with the city's metro closed indefinitely so that officials can review the tracks. President Bachelet asked that drivers not use major highways, because traffic lights weren't working and many pedestrian bridges had collapsed onto the freeways
Major damage was reported in Concepcion, the country's second-biggest city and the one closest to the epicenter. Several fires were reported due to gas leaks. A 13-story building also collapsed.
Concepcion Mayor Jacqueline van Rysselberghe described her city as "Dante-esque" in the aftermath of the quake, saying two bridges over the Biobio River had collapsed and others were damaged. She said officials still were not sure of the death toll.
The city is home to one of the largest universities in the South American nation, Universidad de Concepcion, a public school with a decidedly liberal student body. Its grounds are often the site of socialist and anarchist protests.
Residents take foodstuffs from a market damaged by an earthquake in Talcahuano Port, a city just outside Concepcion some 100 km (62 miles) south of the epicenter, February 27, 2010.
A flattened vehicle is pictured amid rubble in Curico, south of Santiago. The United States and Europe vowed to come to Chile's aid as relief workers rushed to the Western hemisphere's second enormous earthquake in seven weeks.
