7.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Drake Passage

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A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Thursday, the waters between South America’s southern tip and Antarctica.

Chile’s Navy Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service issued a tsunami precaution for the Chilean Antarctic territory following the earthquake that struck 258km (160 miles) northwest of Base Frei on Wednesday evening, it said in a bulletin.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the earthquake at a magnitude of 8 but later revised it, stating that it occurred at a depth of 11 km (7 miles).

The earthquake struck over 700km southeast of Argentina’s southern city of Ushuaia, which has a population of about 57,000, according to the USGS.