Major Earthquake Hits Chile
Sunday, January 2, 2011 at 4:47PM A major earthquake of 7.2 magnitude hit central Chile on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The epicenter was 60 miles northwest of Temuco, which is a city of 245,000 people.
There is no current widespread tsunami threat, although there are reports of people fleeing the area.
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake in the same area last February caused widespread destruction and left dozens dead.
Casualty and damage estimates are unknown.
Chile, the world's top copper producer, has seen its economy surge on heavy spending to rebuild cities ravaged by the February quake and record prices for its main export.
Emergency officials in Chile ruled out a tsunami after Sunday's quake and operations were normal at the Andean division of Chilean copper miner Codelco after the tremor, a spokesman said.
A spokesman for state energy company ENAP said operations were also running as usual at the Bio Bio oil refinery in the area.
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