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An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit Chile on Thursday, the same day Sebastian Pinera took office as president.

Three tremors occurred at 11:39 local time (14:39 GMT) 150 kilometers southwest of the country"s capital, Santiago. The quake"s epicenter was at a depth of 35 kilometers.

The president declared a state of emergency in the region, which is home to some 780,000 people. Chile"s navy also issued a tsunami alert.

On February 27, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake occurred to the north of Concepcion. According to official reports, 497 people died as a result of the tremor.

The quake was followed by a series of aftershocks and tsunamis leaving some 2 million Chileans homeless and damaging about 1.5 million houses.

MOSCOW, March 12 (RIA Novosti)