Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other regional and world leaders are in Panama attending the 2014 World Economic Forum. A tsunami warning was issued there but that has now been lifted.
The US Geological Survey reported that the quake was only 10km below the seabed, which would have made it feel stronger. It was centred 86km (56 miles) north-west of the mining area of Iquique.
The Chilean authorities have used TV to order the evacuation of coastal areas, urging citizens to escape speedily, the BBC Caribbean and Latin American service reported.
The warning from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that the coasts of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua were all at risk of a tsunami. Waves of up to 1.92m (6.3ft) was expected in the wake of the earthquake but there have been no reports of damage.
The USGS said a quake of this force had the power to generate a "destructive tsunami" for coastlines.
In February 2010 a powerful earthquake of 8.8 magnitude quake followed by a tsunami that devastated scores of towns in Central and Southern Chile.
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