Magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Chile

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Wednesday off Chile’s northern coast, the second powerful temblor to hit the area in 24 hours.

Tsunami warnings initially issued for Chile and Peru were canceled about 45 minutes after the quake hit shortly before midnight local time.

No warnings were in place for California, the Pacific Northwest or Hawaii.

Officials said the temblor’s epicenter was 12 miles from the port city of Iquique, much closer than Tuesday’s 8.2 quake, which was 60 miles away from that city.

At least six died in Tuesday’s quake, which caused minor wave action on the California coast that could continue into Thursday.

Observed tsunami heights reached heights of nearly 7 feet in Iquique, and evacuations were ordered along the country’s coast. But by early Wednesday local time, officials had lifted tsunami warnings and watches for Chile and other Latin American countries.

ron.lin@latimes.com