Following a powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake approximately a million people have had to leave their homes in Chile due to tsunami alerts and distabilized structures.

The AFP reports at least ten people died from the quake and aftershocks were felt up and down the southern coast of the continent, prompting people in southern Peru to also flee to high ground.

Panic resulting from the tremors was intensified by tsunami alerts, as 15 feet high waves hit the shore of the coastal town of Coquimbo. The alerts have since been lifted.

The initial quake lasted for more than three minutes and was followed by dozens of aftershocks.

A woman named Gloria Navarro, who lives in the coastal town of La Serena, described the ensuing chaos, saying that people were "running in all directions.” Melisa Pinones, a restaurant owner the city of Illapel, spoke to Reuters about the devastation, saying, "Everything is a mess. It was a disaster, a total loss. Bottles and glasses shattered and the pipes in the bathroom and kitchen burst."

Officials have said that 1,800 people in Illapel were left without drinking water. Electricity providers say hundreds of thousands of their clients in the Coquimbo region were left with no power.

To give some perspective of the magnitude of the seismic disturbance, Wednesday’s quake was five times more powerful than the quake that devastated Nepal in April.

The earthquake, which was Chile's third massive quake in five years, hit just as thousands of Chileans were travelling to the coast to celebrate their independence day, which is on Sept. 18.

Responding to the disaster, President Michelle Bachelet said some of the official festivities would now be canceled. 

"Once again we're having to deal with another harsh blow from nature," said Bachelet as reported in Reuters.

The Weather Channel reports tsunami advisories continue to be in effect for Southern California, and the LA County Office of Emergency Management has advised fishermen, beachgoers and visitors to stay off beaches until the advisory is lifted. The warning has been lifted for Hawaii.