COQUIMBO- An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 shook the northern coast of Chile. To avoid any causalities, the National Emergency Bureau (Onemi) ordered a preventive evacuation from the coast near the city of Coquimbo. These orders were canceled later since the earthquake did not meet the necessary conditions to generate a tsunami, Onemi said.
The earthquake affected a very busy beach in the north and was felt near the city of La Serena over 600km from Santiago.
Although no damage was reported, Ricardo Toro, director of the emergencies authority said that an elder person died in Peñuelas, next to La Serena, from a heart attack due to the unexpected strength of the earthquake.
#Ahora Se registra #sismo en la Región de Coquimbo. Se inicia monitoreo con Red de Informantes Mercalli. pic.twitter.com/WepYUQ2Osz
— onemichile (@onemichile) January 20, 2019
The National Seismological Center reported five aftershocks.
Slight damage was seen in La Serena and surrounding areas. Parts of La Serena’s cathedral fell on the street, and some supermarkets and highways were affected. Residential homes were also damaged.
Sismo de ,6,7 afectó la Región de Coquimbo , pánico y angustia en la evacuación de la av del mar , más daños en el centro de LA Serena y catedral pic.twitter.com/GT1VuDEZgx
— El Día Laut Carmona (@eldia_lcarmona) January 20, 2019
Social media users said that the earthquake could be felt even in several provinces of Argentina.
Hasta Córdoba Argentina se sintió el sismo de Coquimbohttps://t.co/725lWD5vIv pic.twitter.com/ct6s0ah5ki
— soychile.cl (@soychilecl) January 20, 2019
Mohammad Arafat, 26, is a graduate of the Islamic University of Gaza, where he studied English. He aspires to become “a voice for people, expressing their hopes and pains, helping them pursue their dreams in the face of adversity and demonstrating that every life matters.” A freelance writer, Mohammad already has self-published his own book, “Still Living There,” which he disseminates through Amazon.