The whole world's thoughts and prayers will be with the people of Chile tonight.
An 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the northern coast of the South American nation at 6:46 p.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, triggering tsunami warnings in Chile, Peru and Ecuador and tsunami watches in Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. (First reports were of 8.0, but the number was soon bumped up.
Chile's National Emergency Office has asked all residents living along the country's expansive coast to evacuate and social media is awash with photos and videos of crowded streets where people seem to be abiding with the government's request.
And as tends to be the case when tragedy or natural disaster strikes, reactions started pouring in immediately viaTwitter, not least of which from that sliver of the site known as the celebrity twitterverse.
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, who was born in Chile, was among the first to tweet, writing, "My prayers are with Chile right now. Stay safe #BirthCountry."
Others followed, and we bet that many more will be weighing in throughout the night. Here's a sampling:
My prayers are with Chile right now. Stay safe ?? #BirthCountry ??
? Nicole Polizzi (@snooki) April 2, 2014
Glad to see Chilean TV get it right with an authentic sign language interpreter on screen during news of 8.0 earthquake. Praying for Chile.
? Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) April 2, 2014
Hoping you're all ok in Chile after the quake. Sending Love
? Brandon Boyd (@mybrandonboyd) April 2, 2014
Prayers for those in Chile after this earthquake... it was a big one!! The news is reporting an 8.2
? Bebe Buell (@BebeBuellBand) April 2, 2014
Wow @earthquakeBot shows an 8.0 quake in Chile followed by dozens of aftershocks in the 5.0 to 6.2 range. This has been going on for hours.
? Michael Chiklis (@MichaelChiklis) April 2, 2014
Pray for the people of Northern Chile! 8.0 earthquake with possible tsunami later tonight. I served a 2-year mission in Chile. Great people!
? NathanOsmond (@NathanOsmond) April 2, 2014
Sending prayers to chile as huuuuge earthquake hits..preparing for Tsunami,I believe it was 8.1
— Lisa Vanderpump (@LisaVanderpump) April 2, 2014
Just home and watching news. #PrayForChile Man, earthquakes seem to be everywhere. Hang in there guys.
— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) April 2, 2014