SANTIAGO—A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck the coast of Chile early Saturday, killing at least 147 people, rattling the southern half of the country for more than a minute, and prompting tsunami warnings as far away as Hawaii and Japan. The quake, one of the biggest ever measured, struck just after 3:30 in the morning, toppling buildings, collapsing roads, and cutting off power and telecommunications services throughout much of the southern half of Chile. In the hours after the initial quake, felt nearly 2,000 miles away in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the region shook from at least ten additional aftershocks and the country's coastline was hammered by waves that swelled more than six feet above their normal height, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Eyewitnesses in the coastal region of Maule, near the quake's epicenter and where most of the early casualties were reported, said houses "simply disappeared." Government officials said that up to 80% of some towns in the region were destroyed by the shock and consequent waves.[Read more...]