Strong earthquake hits northern Chile

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake shook Chile’s northern Pacific shore hours after a stronger earthquake hit the same region and prompted a preventive evacuation of coastal areas due to fear of a possible tsunami. The earthquake late Sunday was the strongest of more than 50 aftershocks that followed a magnitude-6.7 earthquake Sunday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.Some of the aftershocks shook residents of northern Chilean towns, leading some people to sleep outdoors or in their cars.The big afternoon earthquake caused only minor reported damage, though officials briefly evacuated more than 100,000 people from coastal zones.Chile’s Emergency Office called for a return to normalcy and said offices and schools would be open on Monday. “We are a seismic country, and we have to return to our daily lives, we have to continue working,” said agency director Ricardo Toro.