The strong earthquake, measuring 6.2 on the Richter Scale, rattled the coast of Chile, some 120 km south-west of the port city of Coquimbo, USGS said.
Striking at a depth of 71.6 km, the epicentre of the earthquake was 54km south-west of Ovalle, whose population is more than 113,000 people.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or deaths, but there has been small damage to buildings, Chile earthquake monitors said.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is yet to issue any alerts in connection with the earthquake, which was recorded at around 7.19am local time (11.19am UK time).
Chile is part of the Ring of Fire, also called the Circum-Pacific belt, where about 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur. Chile has a long history of deadly quakes, including a 8.8 magnitude quake in 2010 off the south-central coast that killed 525 people.
