A powerful earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, struck northwestern Argentina near the border with central Chile late on Monday. Chile’s capital Santiago felt the quake too. Santiago is about 300 kilometres from the epicentre of the quake. No damage was reported on the Chilean side.
On the Argentine side, in the Pocito area, shelves in supermarkets were shaking, AP reported.
People in both countries felt the tremors. While no injuries have been reported, some power outages were reported in the quake-hit area.
The quake was followed by an aftershock measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale. About 20 minutes later, an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude shook the area. Damage has been reported to some buildings in the Pocito area.
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According to data from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC), there is no threat of a tsunami.
San Juan Governor Sergio Uñac tweeted, “Let's put into practice all the measures that we have learned to prevent incidents, while we are committed to knowing the impact of the (earthquake) to collaborate in everything necessary.” The depth of the strong earthquake was recorded to be 20 km by PTWC.
This is a developing story.
