SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - A roughly 500-mile stretch of coastline has been ordered evacuated as a precaution after a strong, magnitude-6.7 earthquake shook central Chile late Monday.
There were no immediate reports of serious damage or deaths, but the quake was felt for almost a minute in the port city of Valparaiso and in the capital, Santiago. Video of the tremor was caught by news cameras as an anchor in the middle of a broadcast held onto his set, looked at the ceiling, and spoke calmly to viewers even as the studio was shaking.
Hundreds of people in the capital fled buildings in panic. Authorities says a 72 year old man in Valparaiso died of a heart attack during the tremor but so far, no other deaths are reported.
The Chilean navy's hydrographic and oceanographic service discounted the possibility of a tsunami, but authorities gave the evacuation order anyway.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake's epicenter was 26 miles northeast of Valparaiso at a depth of 23 miles. It struck just minutes before midnight local time Monday. The quake knocked out power and telephone service in various parts of Santiago.
Another earthquake has struck the South Pacific island of Papua New Guinea. It is a magnitude seven quake. And there are no reports of damage or injuries.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
