A strong earthquake of 7.5 magnitude hit the isolated Drake Passage area on Friday. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initially recorded the quake at a magnitude 8, but later lowered its rating.
Although the US tsunami alarm system failed to put out an alert, Chile’s Navy Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service did post a tsunami precaution for their Antarctic region.
Different Reports Of Varying Magnitudes
The quake, which struck in the deep waterway between Antarctica’s South Shetland Islands and South America’s Cape Horn, was reported differently by different agencies. The USGS said the quake struck at a depth of 10.8 kilometers at a magnitude of 7.5.
The German Research Center for Geosciences, on the other hand, recorded a magnitude of 7.1, whereas India’s National Center for Seismology (NCS) also reported a 7.4 magnitude at a depth of 36 kilometers. The earthquake occurred at 7:46 am IST.
A Region Of Seismic Activity
The Drake Passage is a tectonically active region linking the Atlantic and southeastern Pacific Oceans’ southwestern and southeastern parts, respectively. The latest earthquake follows weeks after another independent and powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Russia’s Far East, which triggered tsunami waves to land at Japan and Alaska and resulted in widespread Pacific alerts.