Strong earthquake near Argentina prompts tsunami fears, evacuations in Chile
Coastal regions of southern Chile were told to evacuate after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake was recorded on Friday, May 2, off the coasts of Argentina and Chile, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The earthquake struck along the Drake Passage, which runs between South America and Antarctica, just before 9 a.m. ET. USGS pinpointed the location at 136 miles south of Ushuaia, a town located on the southern tip of Argentina.
Chile's National Disaster Prevention and Response Service said a coastal area of Magallanes region in the southern tip of the country should be evacuated due to the risk of a tsunami. Chilean President Gabriel Boric echoed the calls for evacuation in coastal parts of the Magallanes region, adding that resources would be made available to deal with any impact.
At a press conference later in the day, Interior Minister Alvaro Elizalde said the evacuation alert for the region was being downgraded, but advised people to stay away from the beach and coastal regions.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning center issued a tsunami threat for the region after the quake, saying that tsunami waves of about 3 to 10 feet above the tide level are possible along some coasts of Chile. That alert has since expired.
Contributing: Reuters
(This story was updated to include video.)