6.0 Earthquake Hits Colombia's Northeast near Medellin

An earthquake measuring 6.0 magnitude struck off northwest Colombia Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

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The USGS said the quake was centered about 66 miles north northwest of Medellin. It was 45 miles deep.

The news comes just weeks after a 4.6 earthquake hit the Colombia’s neighbor Ecuador at its capital Quito, the second that struck the city within one month.

Colombia and Ecuador are located on the fault line where the Nazca, a heavy oceanic plate, is sliding under the South American lighter continental plate at a rate of about two inches a year.

Earthquakes across the western region of South America, in Chile, Ecuador and Colombia, occur when strain builds up at the boundary of the two plates, which is then released suddenly in the form of an earthquake.