Mexico City, 2 May 2025 (dpa/MIA) – Hundreds of people were temporarily evacuated from coastal areas in Chile and Argentina at the southern tip of the South American continent in response to a tsunami warning on Friday.

The warning came after an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 was recorded around 220 kilometres to the south of Ushuaia, Argentina's southernmost city.

Immediately after the quake, Chilean President Gabriel Boric urged people in the region to seek safety. The warning was stood down two hours later.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the quake's effects could be felt to some extent in Chile's Magallanes and Antarctica Region. The centre lay at a depth of some 10 kilometres in the Drake Passage, it said.

"No critical infrastructure or people were affected," Chilean disaster agency official Miguel Ortiz told journalists.

The authorities urged people to stay away from the coast, even though they no longer expected destructive waves.

Television broadcaster 24 Horas reported waves between 20 and 30 centimetres higher than before the quake.

Chile's National Seismology Centre put the magnitude at 7.5 and said that aftershocks were recorded.

Photo: MIA Archive