6.4-magnitude Quake Shakes Central Chile: Officials

SANTIAGO, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 04th Nov, 2016 ) - A 6.4-magnitude earthquake of "great intensity" struck central Chile on Friday, but there were no immediate reports of damage, officials said.

The quake shook buildings in the capital Santiago, causing panic among residents, whose frantic phone calls clogged cellular networks and land lines, AFP correspondents said. But "there are no preliminary reports of injuries, interruption of basic services or infrastructure damage caused by this earthquake," the National Emergency Office said.

The quake was unlikely to cause a tsunami, the navy said.

It struck at 1:20 pm (1620 GMT) at a depth of 90.8 kilometers (56.4 miles), according to the US Geological Survey. Chile's National Seismological Service said the epicenter was 38 kilometers southeast of the city of Curico, which is itself some 200 kilometers south of Santiago.

Both agencies put the magnitude at 6.4. Chile is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. It sits on the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire," a seismically turbulent region where many of Earth's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. In 2010, an 8.8-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 500 people.