BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A shallow, 5.9 magnitude earthquake rattled residents of Colombia's second-largest city of Medellin on Tuesday night in the country's biggest tremor in over a year.

Colombia's natural disaster office said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck shortly before 9 p.m. local time near the western town of Mutata. The tremor had a depth of 10 miles (4 kilometers) and was felt as far away as the capital, Bogota.

While the quake startled people relaxing at home it barely registered among soccer fans attending a match in Medellin between Atletico Nacional and Bolivar from Bolivia.

Colombia is a seismically active country with a large potential for damage owing to its mountainous terrain and location along the Pacific Ocean ring of fire. </s> An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 struck northern Colombia on Tuesday night, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake struck about 83 miles (133 kilometers) north-northwest of Medellin.

The USGS said the temblor was about 24 miles (39 kilometers) from Mutata, a town of about 4,800 people

Developing story - more to come </s> More than 400 people had to flee their homes in Citadel Sevilla, Medellin – the home city of infamous cocaine drud lord Pablo Escobar.

People at the scene were "terrified" by the sizeable 6.0 magnitude quake, which is believed to have lasted around 30 seconds and was followed by an intense aftershock.

The local authority has initiated its Disaster Risk Management plan amid fears of landslides taking place in the rural region, which has been battered by heavy rains in recent days.

The quake, which took place aroun 8pm local time, was also felt in Bogota – 400km away.

Mayler Parra, who was near the epicentre in Mutatá, said: "The trucks on the roads were shaking, alarms of cars rang out, all the people in hotels took to the streets."

Express.co.uk spoke to two tourists currently staying in nearby Sabaneta.

Tegan and Daniel, from New Zealand, said: "It was pretty scary! We are staying on the sixth floor in an apartment block and we shook for about a minute. It was a bit daunting not knowing what was going to happen. I guess a lot of people would have felt the same, the city is full of apartments!"

Other locals reported a 13 storey hotel building shaking ominously during the tremor. </s> A strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit the coast of north-central Chile on Saturday evening.

Local government officials said that two people have died as a result of the quake.

The quake struck at 10:32 pm local time with a depth of 53 kilometres and an epicentre some 15 kilometres southwest of Coquimbo.

It rattled buildings in the capital city of Santiago and was felt in Valparaiso, O'Higgins, as well as in Atacama and Coquimbo up north.

A tsunami warning was initially issued, but cancelled shortly afterwards. </s> AN earthquake of magnitude 7.3 has struck the northern coast of Venezuela, the US Geological Survey said.

There are fears it could cause small tsunami waves along the coast near the epicentre.

The quake shook buildings as far as the capital, Caracas, witnesses said.

The quake was initially reported as a magnitude 6.7 and then 7.0 near the town of Carupano.

The quake was felt as far away as Colombia's capital of Bogota, and in Caracas where office workers and residents fled from their buildings and homes.

People took to Twitter sharing their vision from the quake.

A magnitude 7.3 quake is considered major and is capable of causing widespread, heavy damage, that will continue to be felt.

A similar magnitude earthquake occurred in the same area in 1997 and left dozes dead. </s> A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck the eastern coast of Venezuela Tuesday afternoon, according to the USGS.The quake hit around 2:30 p.m. on the northeast coast of the South American nation, about 13 miles southwest from the town of Irapa.Buildings were evacuated in the capital Caracas and people fled homes as the damage was being evaluated. Shaking was felt as far away as Colombia's capital.It was initially estimated at 7.0, but the USGS later updated the magnitude to 7.3.The depth was estimated at 76 miles.DEVELOPING: This story will be updated as more details become available.
A 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits near the Colombian city of Medellin.