Powerful 7.4-magnitude quake strikes north Chile near Argentine border. No reports of major damage

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck northern Chile near its border with Argentina late Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, shaking homes and causing power outages. There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.

The quake’s epicenter was 45 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, a tourist hub on the edge of the northern desert. The trembler had a depth of 117 kilometers (72 miles), according to the USGS, which likely lessened the intensity of the shaking. The deeper an earthquake when it strikes, the less destructive a jolt it will cause at the surface.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric said his government was closely examining the area but “so far there are no reports of injuries or major damage.” The quake did not activate a tsunami alarm.

Footage spread online of rocks tumbling onto a highway connecting the cities of Calama to Tocopilla, east of the epicenter and local authorities reported road blocks in the area.

The shaking from deeper earthquakes tend to be felt across a wider swath of earth, experts say. Thursday’s quake rumbled across six provinces — Tarapacá, Antofagasta, Atacama, Coquimbo, Arica and Parinacota — Chile’s emergency service said. At least a dozen aftershocks have jolted the surface since.

“Despite its remarkable size, and the large number of fallen objects, it is not considered a major intensity earthquake,” researchers at the non-governmental Chilean Geoscience Network reported, citing “some minor shocks to infrastructure” but no fallen buildings. “It was not difficult for residents to stand up,” it said.

Chile is located in the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific that is unqiuely vulnerable to earthquakes Chileans still have painful memories of a magnitude 8.8 earthquake in 2010 that spawned a tsunami and killed 526 people.

The Geoscience Network said that Thursday’s quake was the most intense to strike Chile since 2016, when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the south of the country.