Moderate earthquake shakes northern Chile

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2006

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 has shaken northern Chile early, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, the US government said. The epicenter of the tremor, which occurred at 0820 GMT Saturday, was located in a mountain region 159 kilometers (99 miles) east of the northern port city of Antofagasta and 312 kilometers (194 miles) west of the Argentine city of San Salvador de Jujuy, according to the US Geological Survey.

The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released. © 2006 AFP