An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 has shaken on Friday morning to the Magellan region and Chilean Antarctica, in the southern end of Chile. The National Seismological Center of the University of Chile has specified that the earthquake has been registered at 08.58 hours (Continental Chile) with an epicenter located 218.1 kilometers south of the town of Puerto Williams, of about 2,800 inhabitants. The National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) has requested the evacuation on the coastal edge of the southern area.
The earthquake has not felt in the capital of Chile, Santiago, located at 2,400 north of the epicenter and where he lives about half of the country’s population. In Punta Arenas, the capital of the Magallanes region, where about 150,000 people live, the earthquake has barely been noticeable. In part it is explained by the distance between the two places: in an area of complex geography, in the southern end of the world, Puerto Williams is about 600 kilometers south of Punta Arenas.
President Gabriel Boric, who is originally from this region, has announced through his X (previously Twitter) account that the Regional and National Disaster Risk Management Committee has been activated, and that all resources are being activated to face the emergency. “We call to evacuate coastal edge in every region of Magallanes. At the moment our duty is to prevent and pay attention to authorities,” said Boric, who suspended his activities this morning to monitor the emergency.
The deputy director of Senapred, Miguel Ortiz, has reported that before the Tsunami alert “the population has to be in security zone and evacuate the coastal edge.” Ortiz indicated that, according to the preliminary information they have received from the region, critical infrastructure or people affected by the earthquake has not been reported, but there were 11 evacuated from the Chilean Antarctic territory.
Chilean media report images of the inhabitants who have started uploading to safer sectors, something they do peacefully.
The Interior Minister of Boric, Álvaro Elizalde, heads the National Cogrid with other authorities, in the center of Santiago.
According to official information on the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (Shoa), the possible Tsunami would begin at 11.35 hours (local time) and could arrive at Punta Arenas this Saturday. But the agency has reduced the threat condition of Maremoto, of “alert” to “caution.”
In a testimony delivered to the channel Mega, Catherine Rain, who lives in Puerto Williams, said the earthquake felt very strong, that “it was long and intense.” He added: “It was horrible.”
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