Santiago – A 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook the souther part of Chile and costs thousands of people to evacuate as fear of tsunamis increased.
According to the National Emergency Office, there were no reports of casualties and damages to properties. There was also no tsunami alert released by local officials.
Vicente Nunez, head of the National Emergency Office of Chile said in a statement that there were no people harmed because of the earthquake.
The United States Geological Survey said that the epicenter of the earthquake was located near the coast of Tirua. Tirua is about 385 miles from Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The U.S. Geological Survey also said that it occurred at 2020 GMT at a depth of 10 miles. An aftershock that followed was later measured to be 5.0 in magnitude.
Photo shows houses destroyed by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile last February 2010.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said they have asked the people to seek higher ground as a precautionary measure but added that they should all remain calm. Pinera also said that they were very fortunate that they do not have any casualties.
There were no major problems experienced because of the quake aside from power outages and interruptions in communications services.
Hundreds of people evacuated on higher grounds in their cars after the incident and thousands more followed including tourists. According to local officials, there was no danger of a tsunami as the quake occured on land and not on sea. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also said that a destructive tsunami is not to occur.
It was just last year in February wherein a strong earthquake, measuring 8.8 in magnitude, struck Chile. The earthquake resulted in tsunamis that killed more than 500 people and left at least 200,000 others homeless.
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