Chile earthquake: 6.4-magnitude tremor strikes off coast

Country struck by series of quakes with little damage reported so far

A 6.4 earthquake struck off coast of Chile on Tuesday morning (USGS)

A strong earthquake has struck off the coast of Chile, shaking buildings in the city of Concepcion.

So far there have been no reports of any damage. The US Geological Survey said the magnitude of the quake was 6.4 and that it was centred offshore – 81 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of the city of Arauco in the Chilean region of Bio Bio.

Witnesses in the area said tall buildings swayed heavily after the quake struck at 10.14am local time (9.13am EDT).

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said the earthquake was at a depth of 2km (1.2 miles).

The EMSC also reported around 24 hours earlier that a 4.4 magnitude earthquake had occurred near Concepcion on the Chilean coast. That quake struck at a depth of 11km at 8.58am local time on Monday.

The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said that yet another quake struck near the coast of the north of the country on 1 September of this year.