Chile Earthquake 2012: City Of Arica Rocked By 6.2-Magnitude Temblor

By Connor Adams Sheets | May 14 2012 12:55 PM

Northern Chile, was rocked by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake Monday in the strongest temblor to hit the South American nation since a 7.1-magnitude quake hit the country's central region on March 25.

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Northern Chile, was rocked by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake Monday in the strongest temblor to hit the South American nation since a 7.1-magnitude quake hit the country's central region on March 25. The location of the earthquake is indicated by the blue square on this map.

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News of the Chile earthquake brought to mind the severe tsunami that destroyed most of downtown Constitucion, Chili, in the aftermath of an 8.8-magnitude quake in 2010.

But it appeared that the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile 66 miles northeast of Arica on Monday at 6. a.m. local time (6 a.m. EDT), was much weaker, as no injuries or major damage had been reported by late Monday morning, according to the Associated Press.

However, the AP did reports that the earthquake did knock down some walls and cause power outages in some of the most northern regions of Chile.

The quake was strong enough that it could be felt in parts of Peru and La Paz, Bolivia, which is 120 miles from its epicenter. The AP reports that Chile's government emergency agency said about 250 people streamed onto Arica's streets when the tremblor began. Another Chilean agency said there is very little chance of a tsunami taking place as a result of the Monday earthquake.