A strong and prolonged earthquake of magnitude 6.5 has shaken central Chile. Authorities have ordered a preventative evacuation of parts of the coastline.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake’s epicentre was 50 km northeast of Valparaiso, Chile, and it had a depth of 25 km. It struck at just before midnight local time (9.20 a.m. Tuesday IST).
The quake knocked out power and telephone service in various parts of Santiago, but the National Emergency Office of the interior ministry said that it had received no reports of major damage or injuries.
Chile is highly earthquake-prone. A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck central Chile on March 25, the strongest and longest that many people said they had felt since a huge quake devastated that region two years ago.
In 2010, the 8.8-magnitude quake caused a tsunami that obliterated much of the coastal downtown of the central Chilean city of Constitucion.
–Agencies