Wednesday, June 15, 2005

A major earthquake hit Chile on Monday with a 7.9 magnitude strength. According to the Reuters news service, the earthquake caused a major displacement of homes and caused major power outages. So far, there have been 11 dead in the quake and aftermath.

The epicentre was 115 km at the northeast of the of Iquique, close to the border with Bolivia, and it happened Monday, at 6:45 p.m. local time (22:45 UTC).

Right after the occurrence of the earthquake, schools were evacuated, panic was generalized and the electrical power has been cut. The earthquake could be felt at the south of Peru and Bolivia, but there are not information about victims or damages in these countries. A very small earthquake was felt in some cities in Brazil, with no damages or victims apparently.