Earthquake Rocks Northern Chile

A large earthquake struck northern Chile today, causing strong shock waves in the capital, Santiago, 780 miles to the south.

The quake's epicenter was thought to be nearly 40 miles underground in the Andean village of Quillahua, 60 miles to the west of the city of Calama. The US geological survey measured the quake at 7.7 on the Richter scale.

The quake, which struck at 10:40 EST (15.40 GMT), was also felt strongly in neighboring Peru and Bolivia.

A spokesman for the Chilean president said initial reports indicated there had been "no injuries, but some damage ha[d] occurred, apparently not serious".

He confirmed that electric power had been cut in several cities in northern Chile.

"It was horribly strong," said Andrea Riveros, a spokeswoman for the Park hotel in Calama. "It [went on for] very long and there was a lot of underground noise."

She said the quake knocked out power to the hotel but caused no damage.

"I was very frightened," said Paola Barria, an administrator at the Agua del Desierto hotel 3 miles from Calama. "I've never felt one that strong."

She said the hotel felt "like a floating island" during the quake, which downed power lines, cracked windows and knocked pieces off nearby houses.

Calama, near the Licanbur volcano, is home to close to 150,000 people. The surrounding land is one of the driest areas in the world and sparsely populated.

The National Emergency Office told Chilean national TV there had so far been no reports of injuries.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for Chile and Peru but Chilean authorities ruled out the alert because the quake was inland.