6.7 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Chile, Prompting Tsunami Warning
So far no damage or casualties have been reported. “We have not
received any reports of fatalities. This was a quake of medium
intensity and we are still monitoring the situation,” said Núñez
Vicente Núñez, head of Chile’s National Emergency Office. The
quake struck at approximately 00:50 local time (03:50 GMT) and
reportedly lasted for two minutes. Chilean authorities have
ordered the evacuation of the city of Constitution and other
coastal regions, although Chile’s oceanography service has ruled
out the possibility of a tsunami. In Santiago, 114km from the
epicenter of the quake, people abandoned their homes and took to
the streets, reports Spanish news agency Efe. The strength of
the earthquake was initially recorded at 6.6 in magnitude when
it struck 48km northeast of the coastal city Valparaiso, at a
depth of 25.91 kilometers. Chile is located in an area of
geological instability and is prone to powerful earthquakes. A
major 8.8 magnitude qua