São Paulo, SP (Folhapress)-A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Chile and Argentina on Friday morning (2). According to the geological service of the United States, the tremor occurred at a depth of ten kilometers at sea, near the passage of Drake, a region that separates South America and Antarctica.
According to the National Seismological Center, linked to the University of Chile, the earthquake took place at 9:58 am, 218 km south of the city of Porto Williams (about 2,500 km south of Santiago). The National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) said that a coastal area of the Magalhães region in the far south of the country should be emptied due to the risk of tsunami.
“We are calling the coast throughout the Magalhães region,” said Chilean President Gabriel Boric at X, adding that he will make all state resources available to deal with possible impacts. Chile is one of the countries with the most earthquakes in the world, as the Nazca, South American and Antarctic tectonic plates converge under their territory.
Videos on social networks showed people leaving the place calmly while Sirens play. Chile’s hydrographic and oceanographic service estimated that, in the coming hours, the waves will reach cities in the far south of the country and the foundations in Antarctica, which are already being emptied, according to the Antarctic Institute of Chile. In all, local authorities say, about 2,000 people have already been taken from risk regions.
To date, there are no records of injuries, victims or damage to infrastructure, according to Senapred. The agency established a precautionary state, alert associated with smaller tsunamis.
There is also withdrawal of residents in Ushuaia, southern Argentina. Local authorities have ordered the about 100 residents of Puerto Almanza’s village to leave the site and go to high and secure areas, and suspend all kinds of aquatic activity and navigation on the Beagle channel until 3:30 pm.
