BREAKING: 7.8M Quake Hits Chile Disrupting Christmas Celebration

Christmas celebration plans for thousands of people were disrupted Sunday in southern Chile after a massive 7..8 earthquake hit the coastal areas prompting evacuation. People fled in cars, on foot and on horseback to higher ground fearing tsunami. No major damage or fatalities were reported in the tourism and salmon farming region.

Witnesses said homes started shaking and people were shocked by the loud noise.

One of the residents said it was the biggest scare in their lives.

The Chile’s National Emergency Office (ONEM) said about 5,000 people evacuated the coastal areas after the earthquake. After about three hours it lifted the tsunami and evacuation order too.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet tweeted, “It’s great news that as of now, we don’t have to mourn any deaths as a result of the earthquake in the south… Our goal is to reestablish normalcy in the affected communities.”

Official report said crews were working to restore electricity to about 21,000 homes that went through power cut.

The quake was shallow at a depth of about 34.6 km and was felt as far as Argentina’s southwestern city of Barloche.

Cabanas Hotel in Quellon said, “There was a lot, a lot of movement here, but besides that nothing of note, there weren’t houses falling… It was just scary, and some things inside fell.”