Strong 6.4 magnitude quake shakes Chile

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Strong 6.4 magnitude quake shakes Chile

By Frederick Florin | AFP – 2 hours 4 minutes ago

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the southcentral coast of Chile on

Wednesday in an area hit by a major temblor last year, the US Geological Survey

said.

The tremor caused panic in some communities but there were no immediate reports

of deaths or major damage, and there were no tsunami warnings from the Pacific

Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.

USGS said the quake struck at 1255 GMT off the coast of the Bio Bio region and

some 96 kilometers (60 miles) west of the city of Concepcion, which was badly

damaged in a deadly 8.8-magnitude quake that struck Chile on February 27, 2010.

A moderate 5.4-magnitude aftershock followed about 50 minutes after Wednesday's

quake, which occurred at a depth of 15 kilometers (nine miles).

" There have been no reports of injuries, disruption of basic services or damage

to infrastructure as a result of this earthquake, " the national office of

emergencies Onemi reported.

According to news reports, people panicked in the coastal town of Lebu, just

seven kilometers (four miles) from the epicenter, and residents ran from their

homes.

Fears remain fresh from last year's quake, which was followed by a tsunami that

raked coastal communities. That disaster killed at least 524 people, left

220,000 homeless and caused an estimated $30 billion in damage.