Strong aftershocks scare Chile´s Concepcion

The 5.7-magnitude aftershocks were centered offshore, 56 kilometers west of Concepcion, and at a depth of 35 kilometers.

SANTIAGO, March 21, 2010 (AFP) - Two powerful aftershocks sent people scrambling out of their homes Sunday in the coastal Chilean city of Concepcion, which took the brunt of last month's massive earthquake, but no tsunami alert was needed, officials said.

The 5.7-magnitude aftershocks were centered offshore, 56 kilometers (35 miles) west of Concepcion, and at a depth of 35 kilometers (22 miles), the Navy's oceanographic observatory (SHOA) said.

The national emergency agency (Onemi) meanwhile said the aftershocks were below the tsunami-generating threshold, so no tsunami warning was issued.

The temblors, however, triggered emergency warnings on the radio sending thousands of Concepcion residents running out of their homes to nearby parks and other open spaces.

There were no immediate reports of injuries of damage caused by the aftershocks.

Concepcion and other parts of central Chile on February 27 were hit by a 8.8-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that together killed more than 450 people, with nearly 100 still missing or unaccounted for.

Two million people were left homeless, mainly in hard-hit central and southern coastal areas.