Chile, September 1: An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale and 23 km depth, hit Vallenar in Chile on Tuesday at 04:09 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), according to United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The high-intensity quake caused some damage which took place on the coast of northern Chile. Thus prompting some people to evacuate as a precaution, officials say. An aftershock, which measured 6.3, followed within half an hour.

Earthquake in Chile: High-Intensity Quake of Magnitude 6.8 on Richter Scale 

The first earthquake happened at 12:09 a.m. local time on Tuesday and was centred about 40 kilometres northwest of Carrizal Bajo, a village in the northern Atacama region, or 113 km southwest of Copiapó. It was followed by the aftershock at 12:30 a.m, according to reports.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 01, 2020 11:24 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).