A powerful 8.9 magnitude struck the coast of on Friday, causing widespread power outages, fires and a severe that was reported to be up to 10 meters in places. It was the seventh most powerful earthquake in recorded history.

The reaction on , quickly becoming the go-to service in emergencies, was immediate and intense. Less than an hour after the quake, with the country's phone system knocked out, the number of tweets coming from were topping 1,200 per minute, according to Tweet-o-Meter.

via Mashable!