Breaking: 8.8 Earthquake Hits Chile

Quake hit at 3:30 am. Early reports say 82 have been killed.

According to US Geological Survey (AOL News)

The U.S. Geological Survey put the temblor at an 8.8-magnitude, with two dozen aftershocks in the hours afterward, including one that was 6.9-magnitude. A quake of magnitude 8 or above is considered a "great" earthquake that can cause "tremendous damage," according to the USGS Web site. By comparison, the earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital last month was rated a magnitude 7.0.

Because the scale is exponential, today's seismic event was about 500 times more powerful than the one in Haiti. How much damage an earthquake actually makes depends not only on magnitude but also on depth, local geology, population density and building codes.

"This quake is much larger [than in Haiti], and it's occurring in an area that has a history of generating large quakes in the past," Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado, told AOL News. "I don't know if that [history] ultimately affected building codes [in Chile]. It's hard to project damage at this early stage."

A tsunami warning is in effect for neighboring countries of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica as well as farther-flung Hawaii, Australia, Russia and Pacific nations. A tsunami advisory was issued for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands, The Associated Press reported.

My thoughts and prayers for those affected by this terrible disaster.

AOL video below. FNC have live coverage here although I am having trouble with it. Or try this link[live Chile TV]

FNCalso has links to twitter, etc. Facebook - group