Hospitals are moving patients out into the streets while evacuations are underway.
Tsunami advisories were issued for parts of South America, Hawaii, California and French Polynesia, although waves are generally expected to be small.
As far away as New Zealand, authorities urged residents in eastern coastal areas to stay out of the water and off beaches amid expected “unusually strong currents and unpredictable water flows near the shore”.
According to a preliminary assessment from the US Geological Survey, the quake's epicentre was about 70km north of Santiago.
