The European Union is gearing up to provide emergency aid to the victims of a massive earthquake in Chile that claimed at least 300 lives on Saturday.

The 8.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the most powerful in the country’s history, struck near the city of Concepcion at 3:34 a.m. local time. More than 20 aftershocks of at least 5.0 magnitude, including one at 6.1, have since struck the region.

"The European Union stands ready to provide help for the people of Chile," said EU Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton. "This is the second time in a short period of time that the Americas have been hit by a massive earthquake. We do not know yet the full impact of this disaster."

EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva has activated the group's crisis monitoring unit and told its aid experts "to undertake urgent needs assessments if required."

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Germany would be sending a relief team from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) to the region.

'State of catastrophe'

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has declared a "state of catastrophe" as the earthquake's death toll continues to rise.

"With the quake of this magnitude, we cannot rule out other casualties," she said.

The quake has caused heavy damage, severing transportation links and cutting gas, electricity, water and communication lines in Concepcion and the capital Santiago.

Santiago's international airport remains closed after suffering damage to the terminal, though high-rise buildings in the capital were left relatively intact.

Dozens of countries along the Pacific Rim, including Australia, Japan and the US state of Hawaii, were on tsunami alert on Saturday evening. But Hawaii escaped unscathed, experiencing only a mild rise in the sea level. New Zealand was also hit by small tsunami waves of 1.5 meters in height.

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Editor: Andreas Illmer