Chile lifts evacuation order but keeps coastal areas on alert for a possible tsunami after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

BarcelonaA 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale has struck the southern tip of Chile, in the Magallanes region, triggering a tsunami warning. Chilean authorities initially urged evacuation of the coast of this Patagonian region. However, the precautionary measure remains in effect because "the threat of a tsunami still exists," but it is limited only to the beach area and the coast of Magallanes, and the preventive evacuation has been deactivated. In Argentina, local authorities have recommended preventive evacuations to Ushuaia, according to local newspapers.

According to information published by the Chilean National Seismological Center, the earthquake occurred at 9 a.m. local time (3 p.m. in Catalonia), with the epicenter 300 kilometers south of Puerto Williams, in the extreme south of Chile, and at a depth of 10 kilometers in an area 30 meters above sea level. A state of precaution is in place urging people to leave the beach area.

Chile's National Tsunami Warning System has reported the estimated arrival times of a potential tsunami: the first location likely to be affected would be the Arturo Prat Naval Base, around 11:30 a.m. (5:30 p.m. Spanish time). In Punta Arenas, the largest urban center in the region, the tsunami could arrive in the early morning, around 2:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m. Spanish time).