strong Christmas Day quake rattled
southern Chile on Sunday, triggering initial
tsunami fears and evacuations, but no
deaths were reported and damage was
minor.
The quake registered 7.7 on the Moment
Magnitude scale according to seismologists at
the US Geological Survey. Chile's national
emergencies office ONEMI put it at 7.6.
The epicenter of the shallow quake was on the
southern part of Chiloe island, in a zone of
several national parks.
Authorities issued a tsunami alert immediately
after the temblor, with people on the southern
coast urged to flee to higher ground.
But that was later downgraded to a "state of
precaution," according to ONEMI chief Ricardo
Toro. The public was still told to stay away from
the beaches because of the risk of bigger than
usual waves and currents.
"There was no loss of human life" according to
early reports, ONEMI said.
Electricity and phone lines were briefly cut to
some communities, and media showed images of
cracked and cleaved roads.
The mayor of the town of Ancud, Carlos Gomez ,
told Chilean television network Canal 13 that
falling objects had caused some damage.
But hours later, "everything was back to normal,"
he said.
Chile's president, Michelle Bachelet, sent
"strength and thoughts to our compatriots
affected by the quake in Chiloe" on her Twitter
feed.
ONEMI said around 4,000 people had been
evacuated from one town, Los Lagos.
The closest population center to the quake was
Castro, a town on Chiloe island of 40,000
inhabitants. Chile's capital Santiago was around
1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the epicenter.
"The earthquake hit us as we were having
breakfast and we immediately ran out of the
house because of fears of a tsunami," one man
who fled with his family told Chilean television.
Families celebrating Christmas
The quake struck as Chileans were with their
families celebrating Christmas. All shops were
closed.
Chile is in a quake-prone region, lying on the so-
called Pacific Ring of Fire of frequent seismic
activity. As a result, buildings are usually built to
survive swaying.
The last big quake to shake Chile was in
September 2015, when an 8.3 temblor followed
by a tsunami hit the north of the country, killing
15 people. A coastal evacuation order had
limited the number of casualties.
In 2010 another quake measuring 8.8, also
followed by a tsunami, struck the center and
south of the country, killing more than 500
people.
Comments