Evacuation ordered after latest Chile earthquake

Residents on Chile's northern coast spent a second sleepless night outside their homes after a major aftershock rattled an area hit a day earlier by a magnitude-8.2 earthquake that caused six deaths.

State television said the aftershock caused some landslides near Alto Hospicio, a poor area in the hills above Iquique where about 2,500 homes were damaged by the first earthquake.

The first tsunami waves have reached Chile's coastline following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, the country's navy.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the tsunami wave activity on Chile coast reached a height of 2.4 feet (0.7 metre). The tsunami warning for Chile and Peru has now been cancelled.

Chile's President Michelle Bachelet was evacuated from her hotel in the northern city of Arica after a strong 7.8 magnitude quake triggered a tsunami alert.

She was visiting the area assessing damages after a massive 8.2 magnitude quake and ensuing tsunami rocked the area on Tuesday.

Peru has issued a tsunami alert after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the the northern Chilean coast.

A similar alert was issued yesterday after a larger quake.

Chile's emergency office has ordered the preventative evacuation of northern coastal areas after the 7.4 earthquake.

Latest updates on the Chile earthquake

There have been around 30 earthquakes and severe aftershocks off the coast of Chile in the past 24 hours maps from the US Geological Survey show.

Yesterday a areas were evacuated when an 8.2 magnitude quake sparked a tsunami alert.

Read more: Tsunami after 8.2 magnitude Chile earthquake

A new 7.4 magnitude earthquake has hit Chile, just a day after a massive 8.2 quake lead evacuations due to tsunami fears.

Authorities in Chile have declared a state of emergency after a magnitude-8.2 earthquake claimed five lives off the country's north coast.

The extent of damage has not yet been fully assessed, president Michelle Bachelet said, but she sent a military plane with 100 anti-riot police to join 300 soldiers deployed to prevent looting and round up escaped prisoners.

About 300 inmates escaped from a women's prison in the city of Iquique. In Arica, another city close to the quake's offshore epicentre, hospitals treated minor injuries, and some homes made of adobe were destroyed, authorities said.

Two-metre high waves have hit Chile's northern coast following an 8.2 earthquake in the country.

Officials said the five killed included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or were killed by heart attacks.

A tsunami alert has been issued after a major earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck off the coast of Chile.

This graphic from the US Geological Survey shows where the earthquake struck and at what depth. Five people are reported to have died in Chile following the quake.