PUNTA ARENAS, Chile — A large 7.4 earthquake rattled the waters off South America in one of the world’s roughest ocean passages Friday, triggering fears of a tsunami and coastal evacuations.
The quake struck about 272 miles south of Chile’s Punta Arenas area and about 135 miles south of Ushuria in the area known as Drake’s Passage just before 9 a.m. ET, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
While the quake was estimated to be too small to trigger worldwide tsunami alerts, NOAA’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did issue a tsunami threat message for the coast of Chile within about 200 miles of the epicenter.
“Tsunami waves have been observed,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in its 11:35 a.m. ET update. So far, anomalous waves of just under a half foot have been recorded at a gauge near the Vernadsky Research Facility in Antarctica.
Waves reaching as high as 3-9 feet above tide level were possible along coastal Chile, while smaller waves of 1-3 feet were possible along some coasts of Antarctica, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
Videos posted to social media show tsunami sirens sounding in the Puerto Williams area as Chile’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service issued evacuation notices along the coastal sectors of the Magallenes region. It also told people to abandon all beach areas in the Chilean Antarctic territory, issuing a Red Alert and mobilizing government emergency response efforts.
So far, government officials have evacuated over 1,800 people from the shorelines.
Officials were monitoring the possibility of waves reaching as far north along the Chilean coast as the Gulf de Penas, arriving around 1:20 p.m. ET, and Puerto Williams, advising any waves wouldn’t reach there till just before 3 p.m. ET.
There are no initial reports of any damage or injuries.
