Strong earthquake rattles Chile, no casualties reported

Strong earthquake rattles Chile, no casualties reported

2011-01-03 07:39:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANTIAGO, CHILE (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake on Sunday evening rattled the central region of Chile - around 124 kilometers (77 miles) west of Tirua - but no casualties were reported, seismologists said.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initially registered a 7.2-magnitude earthquake at 5:20 p.m. local time with a depth of 25.1 kilometers (15.6 miles) and just 70 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Temuco, in the Araucania region of Chile, which is about 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the country's capital of Santiago.

Around one hour after the first reports, the University of Chile's seismological service said the quake's magnitude was 6.9, which is closer to the USGS' second report of 7.1.

Chile's President Santiago Piñera told residents to remain calm after meeting with officials from the country's National Emergency Office. He added that aftershocks were likely to hit the region as two have already been registered at 6:10 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. local time.

Furthermore, Piñera underlined that no casualties had been reported, and that all services remained the same with the exception of a few power outages and phone lines experiencing heavy traffic due to the residents' panic.

Chilean seismologists say the earthquake was not related to the devastating earthquake that hit the country last February.

On May 22, 1960, the 'Great Chilean earthquake' struck the coast of central Chile. The 9.5-magnitude earthquake, the largest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded, left between 490 and 5,700 people killed.

On May 10, 1975, a major 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck approximately 34 kilometers (21 miles) southeast of Wednesday's earthquake, causing no fatalities.

And on February 27, 2010, an epic 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck approximately 95 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Chillan, offshore of Bio-Bio at a depth of about 35 kilometers (21.7 miles).

The earthquake, which was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded, devastated the region and - together with a resulting tsunami - left at least 521 people dead. More than 12,000 others were injured.

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