A powerful 7.4 earthquake shook the waters near South America in the challenging ocean area off the coast on Friday, prompting concerns of a tsunami and leading to coastal evacuations. The earthquake occurred approximately 272 miles south of Punta Arenas in Chile and around 135 miles south of Ushuaia in the region known as Drake’s Passage just before 9 a.m. ET, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. While the earthquake was deemed too small to prompt global tsunami warnings, NOAA’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami threat message for the Chilean coast within about 200 miles of the epicenter before lifting all warnings around noon ET.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center mentioned, “Tsunami waves have been observed,” in their 11:35 a.m. ET update. Abnormal waves of almost half a foot were detected at a monitoring station close to the Vernadsky Research Facility in Antarctica. Models suggested that waves could potentially reach heights of 3-9 feet above sea level along the coastal regions of Chile, with smaller waves of 1-3 feet possible in certain areas of Antarctica. However, authorities confirmed that the threat had passed by midday ET and all alerts were deactivated.
Videos circulated on social media showed tsunami alarms ringing in the Puerto Williams vicinity shortly after the earthquake, prompting Chile’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service to issue evacuation directives for coastal areas in the Magallanes region. They advised people to vacate all beach zones in the Chilean Antarctic territory, implementing a Red Alert and activating government emergency response teams. Officials reported successfully evacuating more than 1,800 individuals from the shorelines.
Subsequently, Drake Passage experienced numerous significant aftershocks, including a 6.4 magnitude earthquake just before 2 p.m. ET, according to the USGS. None of these aftershocks were powerful enough to prompt additional tsunami concerns. As of now, there have been no reports of any damage or injuries.
