Christmas celebration was disrupted, because of a 7.6 magnitude Chile earthquake. Denise Alvarado, a resident of Southern Chile, Quellon, stated that it was the biggest scare of their lives. People were shocked by the intense loud noise and shaking.
The officials issued an order to evacuate 1000 km (621 miles), of the epicenter. After that, the order was downgraded, to a tsunami watch. Eight ports, mostly small ports, in the area were closed.
ONEMI reported that, one of the bridge in the area, is destroyed. Other roads are closed, because crews are working on restoring the electricity. There were 21,000 houses left with no electricity.
Chile National Emergency Office (ONEMI) lifted the evacuation and the tsunami watch after three hours. 5,000 people were told that they could go back to their homes.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said on Twitter that no one needs to mourn the death of anyone. And now the goal is to reestablish normalcy in the affected communities.
Alvarado, another citizen of Chile, stated that she was preparing to travel on the countryside with her friends, when she felt the Chile earthquake and ran out of her home.
The damage in Quellon and surrounding areas was shown on the local television. This was not the first time Chile experienced an earthquake. Being located on the so-called "Pacific Ring Of Fire," they have a long history of deadly earthquakes.
One of these is the 8.8 magnitude quake in 2010. According to the Mail Online, in 1960; 1,655 people died, because of a 9.5 magnitude quake. This was recorded by the USGS as the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the world.
According to ABC News, Chile earthquake was felt on the other side of of Andres mountains in Argentina. But damages near the epicenter were limited.
