SANTIAGO: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck just onshore in Chile in the early hours of Saturday, but no damage was reported and the navy said it did not expect a tsunami.

The quake's epicenter was about 100 km (62 miles) south of the port city of Coquimbo, Chile, the US Geological Survey reported. It struck at 4:32 a.m. (0732 GMT) and woke residents in the capital, Santiago, 300 km to the south.

Chile's navy had initially issued a warning of a small tsunami for the nearby coastal area, but later cancelled it.

There were reports on social media of electricity cuts in the area.

The emergency office, Onemi, said it was evaluating whether there had been any damage. Chile is one of the most seismically active regions on earth and buildings are designed to cope with the regular quakes there.