ILLAPEL, Chile (KRON) – Another earthquake hits the coast of Chile on Thursday according to the USGS with a magnitude of 5-5.
This comes after an 8-3 quake struck the northern part of the country Wednesday night.
Authorities in Chile say at least ten people were killed by Wednesday night’s quake. And the number could climb as emergency crews reach the areas that were hardest-hit.
The 8-3 quake has been followed by dozens of aftershocks.
In Chile’s inland cities, people slept outside overnight. Along the coast, people got in their cars to seek higher ground, fearing a tsunami.
An Interior Ministry official says a million people were forced out of their homes, and electrical power was cut off to about a quarter of a million. Many had returned home by midday.
The quake appeared to have a much smaller impact than the 2010 earthquake in Chile that killed more than 500 people and destroyed 220,000 homes. That quake released so much energy, it shortened the Earth’s day by a fraction of a second by changing the planet’s rotation.
Still, the latest quake was strong enough to be felt in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the other side of the continent.KRON 4 Earthquake Page
From USGS:
M5.5 – 70km SW of Ovalle, Chile
IV
ShakeMap