智利致命地震後又發生強烈餘震
A powerful aftershock has struck off the northern coast of Chile, a day after the region was struck by an 8.2 magnitude quake that killed six people.
The U.S. Geological Survey says a 7.8 magnitude earthquake was detected late Wednesday night ((0243 UTC Thursday morning )) about 23 kilometers south of Iquique, at a depth of 20 kilometers below sea level. The aftershock prompted authorities to issue a new tsunami alert along the Chilean coast and order the evacuation of thousands of coastal residents.
Tuesday's quake struck about 100 kilometers off the country's sparsely populated northwest coast, triggering tsunami warnings as far away as Japan. The warnings were canceled several hours later.
Police and soldiers patrolled northern coastal areas of Chile to prevent looting, as television footage showed damaged homes and shopping centers in the port city of Iquique, 1,800 kilometers north of Santiago.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet toured the area Wednesday, declaring it a disaster zone. To the north, the quake triggered power outages in Peru, and evacuations in some southern towns there. But there were no reports of serious damage or injuries.智利北部沿海發生8.2級大地震的一天後，該地區又發生一次強烈餘震。地震造成六人死亡。
美國地質調查局說，伊基克以南大約23公里處星期三夜間發生一次7.8級地震，震中深度爲海平面以下20公里。餘震發生後，有關當局在智利沿海地區再次發佈海嘯警報，並命令沿海地區數千居民撤離。
星期二的地震震撼了大約100公里外智利西北沿海人口稀少的地區，遠至日本都發布了海嘯警報。幾小時後海嘯警報解除。
警察和士兵在智利北部沿海地區巡邏，防止搶劫的發生。電視畫面顯示港口城市伊基克的住房和購物中心受到損壞。伊基克地處聖地亞哥以北1800公里處。
智利總統巴切萊特星期三視察了震區，宣佈該地區爲災區。地震導致智利以北祕魯的電力供應中斷，祕魯南部一些城鎮的居民被疏散。不過，沒有地震造成嚴重破壞和傷亡的消息。
