Chile Hit by String of Powerful Aftershocks

Chile was hit again by another series of large aftershocks on Thursday afternoon local time just as President-elect Sebastian Pinera was about to be sworn in.
Chile Hit by String of Powerful Aftershocks
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<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CHILE97636676_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CHILE97636676_medium.jpg" alt="Outgoing Chilean President Michelle Bachelet arrives at the National Congress in Valparaiso before President Sebastian Pinera's inauguration on March 11. A magnitude 6.9 aftershock, the first at least 15 over the course of the day, shook Chile just minute before billionaire Sebastian Pinera was sworn in as the new president. (Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Outgoing Chilean President Michelle Bachelet arrives at the National Congress in Valparaiso before President Sebastian Pinera's inauguration on March 11. A magnitude 6.9 aftershock, the first at least 15 over the course of the day, shook Chile just minute before billionaire Sebastian Pinera was sworn in as the new president. (Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-101423"/></a>
Outgoing Chilean President Michelle Bachelet arrives at the National Congress in Valparaiso before President Sebastian Pinera's inauguration on March 11. A magnitude 6.9 aftershock, the first at least 15 over the course of the day, shook Chile just minute before billionaire Sebastian Pinera was sworn in as the new president. (Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images)

SANTIAGO, Chile—Chile was rocked by a series of violent aftershocks on Thursday, causing panic and the disruption of the presidential inauguration ceremonies.

The first large aftershock stuck at 11:39 a.m. local time (9:39 a.m. EST), just as president-elect Sebastian Pinera was about to be sworn in. While the incoming and outgoing presidents and other podium officials showed no signs that anything out of the ordinary was happening, the ceremony was reportedly shortened.

The first quake registered 6.9 on the Richter scale, followed about 15 minutes later by another of magnitude 6.7 quake and 11 minutes later another at magnitude 6.0. By evening, roughly 15 shocks had occurred that registered at least 4.9 or higher on the Richter scale.

Original estimates for the first quake were reported as high as magnitude 7.2 but the numbers were later revised downward by the U.S. Geological Survey. The quakes occurred 90 miles southwest of the Chilean capital of Santiago.

Cindy Drukier
Cindy Drukier
Author
Cindy Drukier is a veteran journalist, editor, and producer. She's the host of NTD's International Reporters Roundtable featured on EpochTV, and perviously host of NTD's The Nation Speaks. She's also an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her two films are available on EpochTV: "Finding Manny" and "The Unseen Crisis"
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