The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has released an incredible wave propagation model which shows the oceanic effects of the earthquake that struck northern Chile in April. Courtesy Pacific CWT

A SEVERE 7.8 earthquake has rattled Chile again and residents of coastal cities and towns - including the country’s president - face spending a second night seeking shelter in the hills.

Sirens rang late Wednesday as a tsunami warning was issued and thousands of people in the north who had just endured the latest quake were again ordered to evacuate inland from coastal areas, according to authorities.

Peru to the north also declared another tsunami warning, according to its Navy.

La gente en los cerros de Iquique. @cooperativa pic.twitter.com/ZzNdPBwje3 — Patricio Andrade (@expatodelagente) April 3, 2014

The new quake reportedly took place under land, 25km south of the regional centre of Iquique at a depth of some 20km.

Two strong aftershocks have since been recorded at 5.8 and 5.6 on the severity scale.

The 7.8 quake caused buildings to shake voilently in the port of Iquique, which saw damage from the big 8.2 quake yesterday.

Early fears for the safety of 30 miners in a nearby mineshaft have been raised after the facility was successfully evacuated. Emergency services are also responding to reports of a fire in a chemical factory in the district of Cerrillo.

Cientos de afectados evacuan las zonas costeras de #Chile ante posibles réplicas pic.twitter.com/wyGyXeJafK — Beatriz Tercero (@BeaTercero_PL) April 3, 2014

It is understood buoys off the coast of Iquique registered a new 50cm surge in sea level before a 1m wave was seen to come ashore.

The tsunami warning for the rest of Chile’s coastal regions has now been cancelled.

[Foto] Iquiqueños evacúan por segunda vez la ciudad tras fuerte réplica (vía @Cooperativa) pic.twitter.com/vuXxczUBjE — Amplitud Chile (@AmplitudChile) April 3, 2014

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet was among those evacuated from the coastal city of Arica shortly after the quake struck. She had been touring the town to inspect the damage from yesterday’s 8.2 event.

Reports of power cuts and blocked roads are coming in from the regional centres of Iquique, Arica and Paths.

[INFO] New Msg, TSUNAMI, Pacific Ocean; Near The Coast Of Northern Chile - 7.4, reported by PTWC. http://t.co/KiiXYAeSuc — DisasterAWARE (@disasteraware) April 3, 2014

The new 7.8 quake - which came less than an hour after another 6.4 aftershock - struck in the same area as yesterday’s 8.2 earthquake which reportedly claimed at least six lives.

Yesterday’s quake also hit northern Chile’s Pacific coast in the night — yesterday morning Australian time.

Panicked residents poured into the streets, with more than 900,000 people along Chile’s coast heeding government orders to evacuate their homes and seek higher ground as waves of two metres lashed the shore.

#AHORA: Réplicas y alerta de tsunami en #Chile. Evacúan las zonas de Arica, Tarapacá, Antofagasta e Iquique pic.twitter.com/T7MQLHiy2q — C5N (@C5N) April 3, 2014

Thousands of Chileans had returned home earlier today after spending the previous night on hills as tsunami fears spread as far as Japan.

The chaos - and a collapsed wall - allowed some 300 inmates to escape a women’s prison in Iquique, the city closest to the huge quake’s epicentre. Authorities said 110 of them had been recaptured.

No houses collapsed, but roofs sagged, windows broke and products tumbled from shelves at shopping centres in Iquique, located about 1800 kilometres north of the capital Santiago.

Some 2500 homes were damaged in the town of Alto Hospicio, near Iquique, the National Emergency Office said.

News_Image_File: Rebuilding task ... destroyed houses in Iquique, northern Chile. Picture: Aldo Soldimano

RIPPLE EFFECT

JAPAN today issued a tsunami alert following yesterday’s powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake thousands of kilometres away in Chile — but said it was not likely to cause damage.

The Japanese “tsunami advisory”, which errs on the side on caution, comes as a stunning new video simulation shows how shockwaves spread across the Pacific from the South American epicentre.

Indonesia also said it could be hit by a small tsunami, although officials in Australia and New Zealand said there was no threat.

The quake, which killed at least six people, set off a tidal wave that fanned out and was detected in nations around the pacific rim.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre released a wave propagation model overnight showing its spread - watch the video above.

About 10 hours after the two-minute quake, the Chilean government lifted what remained of the nationwide tsunami alert.

Chilean Interior Ministry Rodrigo Penailillo asked people returning home to remain on alert, as sea levels will remain as much as a meter higher than usual.

He said six people — four men and two women — were killed in Iquique and the nearby Alto Hospicio municipality.

News_Image_File: Two-metre high waves ... fishing boats washed ashore by the small tsunami in Iquique after the quake. Picture: AFP

In Japan, the Meteorological Agency’s advisory — the lowest in its three-level alert system — said a tsunami of up to one metre (three feet) above normal sea levels may hit eastern Pacific coast regions.

Large areas of the coastline covered by the advisory were also hit by the 2011 quake and tsunami, which killed more than 18,000 people and triggered a nuclear accident in Fukushima.

The agency warned people to leave the coast but said it did not expect damage from the waves.

Later in the morning small tsunami waves of 20 centimetres were monitored in areas of northern Japan, with officials warning higher waves may eventuate.

Authorities in Japan and many other countries at risk of tsunamis have well-developed early warning systems and tend to be cautious.

Indonesia, which also issued an alert of small waves, is frequently hit by earthquakes and is particular vulnerable to even small tsunamis as many people on the archipelago of more than 17,000 islands live in poor, coastal communities.

More than 170,000 people were killed in Aceh province on western Sumatra island in 2004 when it was hit by a huge quake-triggered tsunami, which also left thousands dead in other countries around the Indian Ocean.

News_Module: NND Biggest Quakes Multipromo

CHILE: POWER CUTS, BURNING BUILDINGS

As news of Chile’s quake wen global yesterday some fires broke out, roads were damaged and power was knocked out in the northern city of Arica, although there was no widespread destruction, said disaster relief agency ONEMI.

“The street lights were busted, people ran terrified. After the earthquake there were several aftershocks,’’ Veronica Castillo told AFP from Arica, 1600 kilometres north of the capital Santiago.

News_Image_File: Epicentre ... the location where the quake struck.

In Iquique, fisherman reported that 80 boats had been destroyed, sunk or floated out to sea.

The city’s airport control tower was damaged and flights to Iquique, Arica and the northern city of Antofagasta were cancelled.

Landslides hit the road linking Iquique with the rest of the country.

Chile said that so far there have been 17 aftershocks and there will be more in coming days as some energy from the quake zone has yet to be released, according to Sergio Barrientos of the seismological service at the University of Chile.

News_Image_File: Desolate scene ... a fisherman jumps off a boat at the port of Iquique. Picture: Luis Hidalgo

President Michelle Bachelet declared parts of northern Chile to be disaster zones and travelled to Arica and Iquique to survey the damage and lead relief efforts.

She said soldiers would be dispatched to the areas to prevent looting and disorder from breaking out as they did after a deadly 8.8-magnitude quake in 2010.

More than 500 people died and $30 billion in damage was wrought in that quake.

News_Image_File: In flames ... a fire burns in Iquique after the quake.

In Iquique, some 300 prisoners escaped from a jail amid the chaos triggered by the new tremor.

A total of 39 of them have been recaptured, the Interior Ministry said.

The quake struck at 8:46pm (10.46am AEDT) at a depth of 10 kilometres, 83 kilometres from Iquique on Chile’s northern coast, the United States Geological Survey said.

Chile’s National Seismological Centre placed it four times deeper, however.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued an alert for residents living along more than 3000 miles (4800 kilometres) of coastline in South and Central America.

It said waves of more than six feet (two metres) had been generated.

News_Image_File: Powerful ... a danaged shop in Arica. Picture: AFP

WARNINGS IN THE REGION

The impact of the offshore quake went beyond Chile, with Ecuador, Peru and Honduras also issuing tsunami warnings.

In Peru, nine minor injuries were documented and damage to homes in southern villages was reported.

News_Image_File: Salvage effort ... fishermen haul up the remains of a boat destroyed. Picture: Luis Hidalgo

Tremors were felt as far inland as Bolivia, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also issued a warning for Colombia and Panama, and “watches’’ for at least six other countries.

The coastal area hit Tuesday has been the scene of numerous quakes in recent days.

On Sunday, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck, followed by at least two moderate aftershocks.

News_Image_File: Cautious ... people sit on the street following the quake.