There was no risk of a tsunami after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.5 struck the Drake Passage on Thursday, situated between South America and Antarctica. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had briefly issued an alert for Chile’s coastal areas but later confirmed that the tremor did not pose any further danger, reported Reuters.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) later downgraded the magnitude of the quake, which was initially estimated at 8.0, clarifying that it occurred at a shallow depth of 11 kilometers (7 miles). According to USGS data, the earthquake’s epicenter was located more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) southeast of Ushuaia, a southern Argentine city with nearly 57,000 residents, reported Reuters.
Chile’s Navy Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service also took precautionary measures after the seismic event. In a bulletin, it announced a tsunami warning specifically for Chile’s Antarctic territory, as the quake’s location was approximately 258 kilometers (160 miles) northwest of the Base Frei research station, reported Reuters.