Santiago/Washington - An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck northern Chile Wednesday and prompted a tsunami warning as far north as Alaska. The US Geological Survey (USGS) in Denver, Colorado, said the epicenter of the quake that hit at 1540 GMT was located 40 kilometers southeast of Tocopilla near the western coast, and more than 1,000 kilometres from the capital Santiago.
The USGS warned that although there were no initial reports of damage or injuries, the earthquake may have caused substantial damage or casualties due to its location and size.
The tsunami warning was issued for the west coast of the United States, Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia.
