Magnitude 7.7 quake strikes southern Chile

A powerful Christmas Day earthquake hit southern Chile yesterday, triggering tsunami warnings and an evacuation order.

The quake registered 7.7 on the Moment Magnitude scale according to seismologists at the US Geological Survey, and 7.6 for the Chilean government's national emergencies office ONEMI.

The epicenter was on the southern part of Chiloe island, in a zone of several national parks.

The closest population center was Castro, a town on the island of 40,000 inhabitants. Chile's capital Santiago was around 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the epicenter.

ONEMI and the USGS both issued a tsunami alert.