Chile Survived 7.1 Quake with No One Injured

Added by James Morley on January 1, 2010

Central parts of South American country Chile was hit by a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on the Richter scale. Citizens of the country panicked over fears of tsunami.

Memories of the killer tsunami that occurred last February are still fresh. An 8.8 magnitude earthquake had caused huge waves that killed more than five hundred people in the coastal towns of the country. Infrastructure across the Southern and Central regions of Chile had been badly hit.

The most recent earthquake of 7.1 degrees Richter occurred this Sunday, close to 5.30 in the evening.

The director of country’s Emergency Affairs spoke of no damage except for telephone line crashes due to excessive traffic and power cuts caused by damaged wires. There are no reports of any injuries or deaths.

The chances of a tsunami occurring has also been negated and citizens have been urged to return to the house. The strong earthquake was followed by another aftershock that was of 5.0 magnitude.

Operations at copper mines, the country’s principal export item, remained normal even as speculators feared another increase in prices after the previous quake had led to increase in prices for this metal. The quake occurred in the town of Tirua which is 70 km northwest of Temuco.