A major magnitude-7.6 earthquake jolted southern Chile on Sunday, prompting thousands to evacuate coastal areas, but no fatalities or major damage were reported in the tourism and salmon farming region.

Chile's National Emergency Office, or ONEMI, lifted both the evacuation order and a tsunami watch three hours after the Christmas Day quake struck, telling nearly 5,000 people who had evacuated they could return to their homes.

Onemi said one bridge in the area was impassable as crews worked to restore electricity to 21,000 homes without power.