A major tsunami warning was issued after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit the southern coasts of Chile and Argentina in South America, the US Geological Survey said on Friday. People living close to the southern tip of the country have asked to evacauate and move to safer places.

"We call for evacuation of the coastline throughout the Magallanes region," Chilean President Gabriel Boric said in a post on X.

"At this time, our duty is to be prepared and heed the authorities. Regional and national COGRID (Cogrid of the Nationwide Risk Management System) is underway. All state resources are available," he added.

The epicentre of the quake was 219 kilometres off the coast of the Argentine city of Ushuaia at around 2 pm (local time), the USGS said, while also reporting aftershocks.

According to local media reports, the authorities issued precautionary evacuation orders, asking residents to move to places higher than 30 metres.

Source: India Today