Strong Earthquake Hits Chile

A quake registered 7.7 on the Moment Magnitude scale, according to seismologists at the US Geological Survey, hit Chile. 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, PRI news website reported. 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. ONEMI said around 4,000 people had been evacuated from one town, Los Lagos.