April 1, 2014, Tuesday night, a tremendous earthquake struck off the coast of northern Chile, near the town of Iquique. The magnitude 8.2 quake triggered a localized tsunami that battered the coastline with seven-foot waves. The shallow temblor (12.5 miles below the seabed) also set off dozens of aftershocks -- 18 of them above magnitude 5.0 so far, including a magnitude 7.6 aftershock last night. Surprisingly, damage and casualties were very limited. Several fires erupted, smaller structures suffered minimal damage, and six deaths were reported -- the victims were either crushed under debris or suffered fatal heart attacks. Today, Chile's navy cancelled a tsunami alert and its emergency office, Onemi, which had earlier asked residents to evacuate the coastline, said people could return to their homes.
Fishermen try to salvage their boats in the aftermath of an earthquake and tsunami that hit the northern port of Iquique, Chile, on April 2, 2014. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.2, struck off the coast of northern Chile near the copper exporting port of Iquique on Tuesday evening, killing six and triggering a tsunami that pounded the shore with 2-meter (7-foot) waves. (Reuters/Francisco Alcayaga Motta)
People embrace on the upper floor of an apartment building located a few blocks from the coast where they gathered to avoid a possible tsunami after an earthquake in Iquique, Chile, on April 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Cristian Viveros)
People flee Costa Verde bay after a tsunami alert in Lima, Peru, on April 1, 2014. A tsunami warning was issued for Chile, Peru and Ecuador. (Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images)
A fire burns in Iquique city, viewed from the top floor of a neighboring building during a vertical evacuation after a tsunami alarm on April 1, 2014. (Reuters/Cristian Vivero)
Locals gather on the street following a tsunami alert after a powerful 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit off Chile's Pacific coast on April 1, 2014 in Antofagasta. (Francesco Degasperi/AFP/Getty Images)
Firefighters battle a blaze started after an earthquake and tsunami hit the northern port of Iquique on April 2, 2014. (Reuters/Hector Merida)
A cameraman records near cars caught under rubble after an earthquake and tsunami hit Iquique on April 2, 2014. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)
Vehicles and boats lie on the shore after a tsunami hit the port of Iquique on April 2, 2014. (Reuters/Cristian Vivero)
People sit outside as they evacuate their homes after a strong aftershock in Iquique on April 3, 2014. (AP Photo/Cristian Vivero)
People walk along a cracked road in Iquique on April 2, 2014, a day after a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake hit off Chile's Pacific coast. (Aldo Solimano/AFP/Getty Images)
Rescue workers inspect a car caught under an earthquake-triggered landslide in Iquique on April 2, 2014. (Reuters/Cristian Vivero)
Quake-damaged houses in Iquique on April 2, 2014. (Aldo Solimano/AFP/Getty Images)
Fishing boats washed ashore by a small tsunami sit in Caleta Riquelme, adjacent to the port in Iquique, after a magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck on April 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Cristian Vivero)
A fisherman tries to salvage a boat after the earthquake and tsunami in Iquique on April 2, 2014. (Reuters/Francisco Alcayaga Motta)
Part of a chair floats in a flooded area of Iquique, following a small tsunami, on April 2, 2014. (Aldo Solimano/AFP/Getty Images)
A resident looks at debris around a home after an earthquake in Iquique on April 2, 2014. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)
People queue to get fuel at Riquelme Cove, in Iquique, on April 2, 2014. (Juan Leonel/AFP/Getty Images)
A soldier directs traffic in Iquique on April 2, 2014. ( AP Photo/ Luis Hidalgo, Pool)
White barricade tape that reads "Danger" in Spanish blocks off damage caused overnight in the port of Iquique, on April 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Cristian Vivero)
People line up outside a market to buy supplies after the earthquake in Iquique on April 2, 2014. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)
Residents walk to higher ground after a 7.6 magnitude quake, following Tuesday's earthquake and tsunami, in Iquique on April 2, 2014. There were no reports of casualties or damage to infrastructure after the powerful 7.6 magnitude quake that triggered a tsunami alert, Chile's Onemi emergency office told Reuters on Thursday. The quake struck off northern Chile late on Wednesday, prompting tsunami alerts and evacuations along the coast and in neighboring Peru. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)
People from the town of Pozo al Monte, close to the city of Iquique, camp out on a stadium field on April 3, 2014, as earthquakes rocked the area over the last 48-hours. (Cris Bouroncle/AFP/Getty Images)
Police patrol streets as people walk to higher ground in a tsunami safety zone after a 7.6-magnitude aftershock hit the northern port of Iquique on April 3, 2014. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)
A resident from the town of Pozo al Monte, close to the city of Iquique, camps out early on April 3, 2014, in fear of more quakes rocking the area. Chile's navy cancelled a tsunami alert for all of the coastline on Thursday following a strong 7.6 magnitude quake off the north of the country. It was the strongest of several aftershocks that followed a huge 8.2-magnitude quake blamed for six deaths in the same region on Tuesday. Chile's emergency office, Onemi, which had earlier asked residents to evacuate the coastline, said "people can return to their homes". (Cris Bouroncle/AFP/Getty Images)
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