A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Atacama region of northern Chile today, causing no reported injuries but leaving over 20,000 households without electricity, according to local authorities.
The quake occurred at 13:15 local time (20:15 GMT), approximately 54 kilometers from Diego de Almagro, as noted by the National Seismology Center.
President Gabriel Boric shared on his X-platform account that there have been no casualties reported thus far.
Footage and photos from local media reveal broken windows and damaged walls in Copiapó, which is located 800 kilometers north of Santiago.
“We currently have 23,000 customers without power in the Atacama region,” stated Miguel Ortiz, deputy director of the National Disaster Prevention and Response Agency, while also noting some building collapses.
Chile is one of the world’s most seismically active countries, situated at the convergence of the Nazca, South American, and Antarctic tectonic plates. In 1960, Valdivia was devastated by a 9.5-magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded, resulting in at least 9,500 fatalities. Again, in 2010, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake, followed by a tsunami, claimed 520 lives.
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