BUTUAN CITY – A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off the southern coasts of Chile and Argentina on Friday, prompting Chilean authorities to issue an evacuation alert for the entire coastal section of the Strait of Magellan and the Antarctic beach areas of the Magallanes Region due to tsunami concerns.
The quake, which occurred in the Drake Passage between Cape Horn and Antarctica at a shallow depth of 10 km, caused no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Chilean President Gabriel Boric urged residents to follow evacuation orders and assured that national resources were mobilized for the response.
While Argentina did not issue a tsunami warning, authorities in Ushuaia—one of the world’s southernmost cities—suspended all water activities and navigation in the Beagle Channel for at least three hours, emphasizing the need for calm amid the seismic event.
