A 6.4 -magnitude earthquake occurred today in the Atakama area, northern Chile, without reporting victims, but more than 20,000 households have been left without electricity, local authorities said.
The earthquake was recorded at 13.15 local time (20.15 hours of Greece) 54 kilometers from the city of Diego DE Almagro, according to the National Seismology Center.
In a post on his account on X platform, President Gabriel Boric said no casualties have been reported so far.
Plans and photos of local media show broken glass and crushed walls in the city of Kopyako, 800 kilometers north of Santiago.
“After the earthquake, we have 23,000 non -electricity customers in the Atakama area” while reporting some building collapses, said Miguel Ortis, the Deputy Director of the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service.
Chile is one of the most earthquake -prone countries in the world. Three tectonic plates meet in the area: that of Naska, South American and Antarctica. In 1960, the city of Valdivia was leveled by an earthquake of 9.5 degrees, the strongest ever recorded. At least 9,500 people were killed. In 2010 there was an earthquake of 8.8 degrees – followed by a tsunami – resulting in 520 people.
