A damaged building after last year's earthquake in Chile.
Chile, News Briefs

Chile Hit By Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake; No Deaths Or Damage Reported

June 1, 2011 By Andrew OReilly

A damaged building after last year's earthquake in Chile.

A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck this morning just off the coast of central Chile, affecting the same region as last year’s devastating earthquake that triggered a tsunami.

The earthquake struck just before 9 a.m. and was centered 59 miles southwest of Concepción, the capital of Chile’s Bio-Bio region, according to The U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. agency initially reported the quake as magnitude 6.3.

Chilean emergency officials said Wednesday that no damage to people or buildings had been reported. The country’s state-run oil company, ENAP, added that the quake did not affect the country’s largest oil refinery Bio Bio, which is near the region.

The low-intensity tremor was felt in Chile’s south-central region, the same area that was devastated by a massive quake last year.

Last February an magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile’s central region, killing more than 500 people and damaging over 300,000 homes.

Photo: James Guppy @ Flickr.