Santiago, May 3: A 7.4 earthquake struck the Drake Passage, located between Cape Horn and Antarctica, at a depth of just 10 km (6 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey.

The quake triggered a tsunami warning, prompting Chile’s National Disaster Prevention and Response Service to issue evacuation orders for coastal areas in the Magallanes region, located at the southern tip of the country.

Chilean authorities withdrew the warning later Friday after determining that no tsunami was occurring, allowing people to trickle back to their homes even as officials continued to caution the public to steer clear of boardwalks and beaches.

“Although the state of the emergency has been downgraded ... it’s very important to remain alert to official communications,” Chilean President Gabriel Boric wrote on social media platform X. “In these cases, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was shallow, at just 10 kilometers (6 miles) under the seabed, and it struck about 219 kilometers (173 miles) south of Argentina’s southernmost city of Ushuaia.

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