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Chile’s President, Michelle Bachelet, has called for calm in the aftermath of the massive earthquake which struck Chile and warned armed looters that the full force of the law will be applied against them. Curfews were imposed in four cities 2 March, including the hardest-hit second city, Concepción, which is under an 18-hour curfew.
The government sent 7,000 additional troops to maintain order, in addition to the 10,000 already in place who are helping to restore order and with rescue efforts. About half a million people are homeless in Concepción and are more terrified of crime than of aftershocks.
Officials admitted the government had underestimated the dangers from tsunamis following the earthquake and is only now gauging the extent of the damage to coastal areas, the site of massive destruction and most of the almost 800 reported deaths. The stretch of coast 500 km north and south of the 8.8-maginitude earthquake’s epicentre was particularly affected.
The death toll from the 27 February earthquake in Chile has doubled to over 700, according to the country’s president, Michelle Bachelet, and the number is expected to keep rising. The airport in the capital, Santiago, has reopened, but the country is struggling to cope with disrupted transport, food shortages in hardest hit areas and looting.
Links to other sites: BBC, CS Monitor
Chile has been shaken by a midnight (06:34 GMT) earthquake that measured 8.8 on the Richter scale, say geologists in the US and China, who have upgraded their measurements of it. The earthquake was 1,000 times more powerful than the one that struck Haiti in January, experts said on CNN. The quake hit central Chile, 100km north of the city of Concepcion, and 350 from Santiago, the capital. The Chinese Earthquake Administration says it occurred at and “the epicenter was 35.8 degrees south latitude and 72.7 degrees west longitude, with a depth of 33 kilometers.” Sixty-four people are reported dead but numbers are expected to rise.
The airport in Santiago, which was was shaken for 90 minutes, is closed until further notice and according to the BBC, “Tsunami warnings have been issued for Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific island nations. Alerts were also earlier issued for Antarctica and Central America.”
Reuters updates and background
Links to other sites: BBC, New York Times, Sydney Morning Herald, Xinhua
Sebastian Pinera, a right-wing politician and billionaire, whose investments include the largest stake in Lan Airlines, has won a tight race for president in Chile. Former President Eduardo Frei, who ruled from 1994-2000, has conceded defeat. Pinera had more than 51 percent of the vote, with 60 percent of polling stations closed. The country’s current president, Michelle Bachelet,is barred from running for another term.
Thousands joined the cortege to rebury singer and filmmaker Victor Jara in Santiago, Chile Saturday 5 December, 36 years after his wife had to hastily bury him and flee the country. He was tortured and shot one week after Augusto Pinochet came to power in a coup against Salvatore Allende, in 1973. His murderers have never been named.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Nineteen countries have now secured their places in the Fifa World Cup finals to be held in South Africa in 2010 after the penultimate games in the qualification series. In the African group Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are through and six places are up for grabs. Australia, Japan and the two Koreas take the Asian places with one more team entering a playoff with New Zealand. Seven of the 13 European places are decided:
Flushing Meadows, New York (GenevaLunch) – Third seed Rafael Nadal showed he was in good form yesterday in the fourth round of the US open by beating Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-1 6-3, despite a reported intestinal problem, and after coming back from serious knee injuries earlier this year.
In the other matches 8 September at Flushing Meadows, Long Island, Croatia’s Marin Cilic beat Briton Andy Murray 7-5 6-2 6-2 to qualify for the quarter-finals; Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-4, and Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro trounced Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 6-3 6-3. BBC Sports, US Open site
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – After an emergency meeting early this afternoon the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the the A/H1N1 (swine) flu pandemic had entered its highest phase 6, denoting “sustained community-level outbreaks in at least two WHO regions.” In its latest update 10 June, WHO reported almost 28,000 confirmed cases of swine flu in 74 countries worldwide, with 141 deaths. Sudden spikes in confirmed cases in the past few days have been reported from widely-separated countries like Australia and Chile, prompting WHO concern.
