6.7 earthquake strikes near Chilean coast

An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 struck near the coast of Northern Chile on Tuesday, the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences said.

It earlier showed the magnitude as 7. The quake had a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), GFZ said.

BNO reports that there were two earthquakes, with the first earthquake striking at 12:09 a.m (local time) on Tuesday and was centred about 40 kilometres northwest of Carrizal Bajo, a village in Atacama, or 113 km southwest of Copiapó. It was followed by an aftershock at 12:30 a.m.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the first earthquake measured 7.0 and struck at a depth of just 35 kilometers. The second earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3, according to Chile’s seismological agency.

“Based on all available data, there is no tsunami threat from this earthquake,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin to member states. “No action is required.”

Chile is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin which is prone to frequent and large earthquakes. A magnitude 9.5 earthquake struck off the coast of central Chile in May 1960, killing thousands of people. It was the largest earthquake ever recorded.

GFZ / Reuters / BNO