Chile Hit by Strong Quake*

The Associated Press
Saturday, April 21, 2007; 8:46 PM

SANTIAGO, Chile -- A strong earthquake rocked a part of southern Chile
Saturday that has been hit by hundreds of tremors in the last three
months that may be related to the birth of an undersea volcano.

The government's Emergency Bureau said preliminary reports indicate
there were no victims or major damage in the sparsely populated area
located in the Aysen Fjord, about 1,700 miles south of Santiago.

The quake struck at 1:53 p.m. with a magnitude of 6.2, according to the
U.S. Geological Survey.

There was some panic in Puerto Chacabuco and Puerto Aysen, the towns
closest to the affected area, said Regional Gov. Viviana Betancourt.
Electric power and telephone services were briefly interrupted in both
cities and there was a minor landslide on a hill near Puerto Aysen,
slightly damaging two houses.

Hundreds of tremors have shaken the area since January, with epicenters
always in the same fjord. But most have not been strong enough to be
felt. Betancourt said Saturday's was one of the strongest and longest
quakes since the seismic activity started.

Officials have said that the quakes are probably related to the eventual
birth of a volcano in the fjord.

After the first few weeks of tremors, volcano specialist Juan Cayupi,
member of a team sent by the government to investigate the situation,
told The Associated Press that the quakes were being caused by "a magma
force that is pressing up toward the surface, and is fracturing the
rock" some six miles below the surface.

Cayupi and other experts say the volcano will probably be a small
submarine one, and that any eruption would not be strong.