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"I've been using my glass of water to verify it's not just in my mind," said Luke Mescher, an American college student in Santiago. "You can see the water wobbling back and forth every time that it happens."

The 8.8-magnitude quake struck before dawn Saturday, toppling thousands of houses, affecting 2 million people and dealing a serious blow to one of Latin America's most stable economies.

Authorities placed the preliminary death toll at more than 300, but the government is expected to update the casualty count at 12 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET).

"The number of victims could get higher," said President-Elect Sebastian Piñera, who will take office in March.

On Sunday morning, fears of looting increased in some areas, including hard-hit Concepcion, located about 70 miles (115 kilometers) from Santiago in coastal central Chile.

Desperate residents scrounged for water and supplies inside empty and damaged supermarkets. On Sunday morning, authorities resorted to using tear gas and water cannons in some instances to disperse looters.

But there were not enough police to control all of the people seeking food and supplies from the stores. Some consumers were becoming desperate because supermarkets were closed, and there was no gasoline available.

The quake spawned a tsunami that raced around the world, but initial fears that it would be as devastating as the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean did not materialize.

The tsunami struck the island state of Hawaii as a series of small waves without causing damage, said Gov. Linda Lingle.

In Japan, the first waves to come ashore were also small, but authorities still asked thousands of evacuated residents to stay away because a second and third round of waves could be stronger.

Saturday's quake was 700 to 800 times stronger than the 7.0-magnitude quake that struck Haiti in January, leaving 212,000 people dead and more than a million homeless.

It also occurred at a greater depth -- 21.7 miles -- compared to the shallow 8.1-mile depth of the Haiti quake, which contributed to much of the damage there.

Many of those whose homes hadn't been reduced to rubble in Santiago refused to go inside Saturday night, fearing aftershocks that could send the structures tumbling.

They dragged mattresses and lawn chairs out in the open and settled in for the night -- lighting bonfires or using the glow of flashlights to communicate with each other.

Coastal Chile has a history of deadly earthquakes, with 13 temblors of magnitude 7.0 or higher since 1973, the U.S. Geological Survey said. As a result, experts said, newer buildings are constructed to help withstand the shocks.

Still, the damage from Chile's earthquake was widespread. A 15-story high-rise near the southern city of Concepcion collapsed; the country's major north-south highway was severed at multiple points; and the capital city's airport was closed after its terminal sustained major damage.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced that all public events would be canceled for the next 72 hours and that the start of the school year -- originally scheduled for Monday -- would be delayed until March 8.

"Our history is full of natural disasters that have tested our strength but our history also has registered the perseverance of our people," she said in a televised address. "We have done it before; I have no doubt that we will move forward once again."

The quake struck at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. ET) Saturday off the Pacific coast at a depth of nearly 22 miles (35 kilometers) and about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Chillan, Chile, the USGS said. Santiago, the capital, is 200 miles (325 kilometers) northeast of the epicenter.

Saturday's epicenter was just a few miles north of the largest earthquake recorded in the world: a magnitude 9.5 quake in May 1960 that killed 1,655 and unleashed a tsunami that crossed the Pacific.

The quake was followed by more than 76 aftershocks of 4.9 magnitude or greater, the USGS said.

That included a 6.1-magnitude quake in Argentina that killed a 58-year-old man and an 8-year-old boy in separate towns, the government-run Telam news agency said.

Some buildings in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, were evacuated, though the city is 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) from Santiago.

A large wave Saturday killed six people and left 11 people missing on the island of Juan Fernandez, 400 miles (650 kilometers) off the coast of Chile.

Across Chile, desperate relatives spent the day searching for missing loved ones.

"My parents, I was able to talk to them for a very short phone call. I have my cousins who are still unaccounted for," said Andrea Riffo, who lives in Santiago but was trying to reach family members in Concepcion. "The lines are down everywhere."

For the lucky ones, such as Nica Motles, the damage was mostly material.

"The building didn't get damaged at all on the outside but the walls are cracked. The walls, the decorations, glasses, dishes," she said Sunday morning.

But for the unfortunate, the task of recovering them fell to rescue crews who will resume their search at daybreak on Sunday.

Buildings lay in rubble, bridges and highway overpasses were toppled and roads buckled like crumpled paper. Mangled cars were strewn on highways, many of them resting on their roofs.

In Concepcion, whole sides of buildings were sheared off, and at least two structures caught fire. Emergency teams rescued 30 people from one collapsed building.

Bachelet declared areas of catastrophe, similar to a state of emergency, which will allow her to rush aid to the areas. She noted that two of the nation's largest hospitals had suffered structural damage and patients were taken to other facilities.

Other public institutions also were affected.

"There were reports of riots at one of the jails," Bachelet said. "The jails have, of course, received significant damage. ... We are looking into possibly moving some of these inmates."

Two airlines, LAN and Cencosud, announced they were temporarily suspending services.

The European Union offered $4 million in assistance and several international humanitarian groups pledged help for Chile's relief effort.

In a televised address Saturday, President Obama said that the United States has resources ready if Chile requests help.