MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Strong quake hits Argentina and Chile

No damages were reported and there was no risk of tsunami on the Chilean coast

Argentina's National Institute of Seismic Prevention (Inpres) Monday reported an earthquake at 00:05 local time (03:05 GMT), at a depth of 214 kilometers, with its epicenter 240 kilometers west of the city of Neuquén, and 14 kilometers south of the small town of Loncopué.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported on its website that the earthquake spoke of the epicenter being 25 kilometers east-southeast of Loncopuéand at a depth of 171.4 kilometers, while Chile's National Seismological Center mentioned that the telluric movement had an intensity of 6.6. and was located 50 kilometers to the northeast of the Chilean locality of Lonquimay.

No casualties or material damages were reported but moments before the event the people in the region “received with some surprise an alert on their cell phones for an earthquake in the area,” according to Mendoza media. “The impact of the tremor was felt in the Andes mountain range in Mendoza, generating concern among residents of the region,” it added. According to TN, the earthquake was felt in the provinces of Neuquén, Mendoza, San Juan, and La Pampa.

The epicenter area is a sparsely populated region of Argentina, located about 1,450 kilometers southwest of Buenos Aires, the capital of the South American country.

In Chile, people in Valparaíso and Los Lagos reported that the earthquake was felt strongly in those regions, while the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (Shoa) ruled out any risk of a tsunami on the national coasts.

Chile's National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senpred) indicated that the earthquake reached an intensity of VII on the Mercalli scale in Talca (Maule Region). Senpred also stated that “at the moment there are no reports of people or houses being affected. There was some congestion in the telephone lines for a few minutes, but there were no cuts. They remained functioning at all times.”