IQUIQUE, Chile (AP) — A powerful 7.6-magnitude
aftershock hit Chile's far-northern coast late Wednesday night, shaking the same
area where a magnitude-8.2 earthquake hit just a day before causing some damage
and six deaths. Chile's Emergency Office and navy issued a tsunami alert and
ordered a precautionary evacuation of low-lying areas on the northern coast,
meaning many people could be spending another sleepless night away from their
homes. The aftershock caused buildings to shake and people to run out into the
streets in the port of Iquique, which was one of the cities that saw some damage
from Tuesday night's big quake. But there were no immediate reports of new
damage or injuries from the latest tremor, which was one of dozens that have
followed the 8.2 quake. "I was evacuated like all citizens. One can see that
the people are prepared," tweeted President Michelle Bachelet, who was in the
nearby city of Arica to assess the damage. The aftershock was centered 12
miles (19 kilometers) south of Iquique at a depth of 25 miles (40 kilometers),
the U.S Geological Survey said. The USGS initially reported the tremor's
magnitude at 7.8, but downgraded it to 7.6. It was felt across the border in
southern Peru, where people in the cities of Tacna and Arequipa reportedly fled
buildings in fear. On Tuesday, authorities reported just six deaths from the
initial quake, but said it was possible others could have been killed in older
structures made of adobe in remote communities that weren't immediately
accessible. About 2,500 homes were damaged in Alto Hospicio, a poor
neighborhood in the hills above Iquique, a city of nearly 200,000 people whose
coastal residents joined a mandatory evacuation ahead of a tsunami that rose to
only 8 feet (2.5 meters). Iquique's fishermen poked through the aftermath:
sunken and damaged boats that could cost millions of dollars to repair and
replace. Still, as President Michelle Bachelet deployed hundreds of anti-riot
police and soldiers to prevent looting and round up escaped prisoners, it was
clear that the loss of life and property could have been much worse. The
mandatory evacuation lasted for 10 hours in Iquique and Arica, the cities
closest to the epicenter, and kept 900,000 people out of their homes along
Chile's 2,500-mile (4,000 kilometer) coastline. The order to leave was spread
through cellphone text messages and Twitter, and reinforced by blaring sirens in
neighborhoods where people regularly practice earthquake drills. But the
system has its shortcomings: the government has yet to install tsunami warning
sirens in parts of Arica, leaving authorities to shout orders by megaphone. And
fewer than 15 percent of Chileans have downloaded the smartphone application
that can alert them to evacuation orders. Chile is one of the world's most
seismic countries and is particularly prone to tsunamis, because of the way the
Nazca tectonic plate plunges beneath the South American plate, pushing the
towering Andes cordillera ever higher.
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