Strong earthquake shakes Chile

A powerful earthquake shook central Chile, alarming residents of the nation's second-largest city, but apparently causing no major damage, officials said. The 6.3-magnitude quake struck at 6:19 pm (local time) on Thursday and was centered about 45 miles (70 kilometers) north of Valparaiso, according to the US Geological Survey. The Seismological Institute of the University of Chile said the quake's magnitude was 5.9. The quake was followed by two aftershocks, one of which the USGS measured at magnitude 5.8. Some residents of Valparaiso, which together with sister city Vina del Mar have 1.6 million inhabitants, fled into the streets when the quake struck. But Carmen Fernandez, head of Chile's Emergency Bureau, said there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. "It's a strong quake, but it's still 45 miles away from the city," said John Bellini, a USGS geophysicist in Golden, Colorado. "This would not be expected to cause large, widespread damage." Valparaiso is Chile's second largest city and lies 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Santiago. The quake was felt in Chile's capital. Quake strikes off Indonesia's Maluku: USGS A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku, the US Geological Survey said, but there were immediate reports of damage or casualties. The quake hit at 11:50 pm (09:20 pm IST) on Thursday and its epicentre was about 170 kilometres north of Ternate in northern Maluku, the USGS said. It was registered at a depth of 107 kilometres. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii did not issue an alert for the region. <<<< back