Floods, blizzards, and now an Earthquake...
Chile hit by quake; some power out but no major damage
SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) -- A moderate to strong earthquake shook central Chile early Friday, knocking out power to at least three sectors in the capital of Santiago and causing widespread alarm but no immediate reports of damage or deaths.
The quake, which struck shortly before 4 a.m. local time lasted between 30 and 40 seconds and registered a 6.0 magnitude, according to Chile's National Emergency Office (Onami). U.S. Geological Survey data put the magnitude at 6.4.
Onami officials told Reuters the quake was felt over a broad swathe of central Chile. Onami head Alberto Maturana said it was centered 40 miles southeast of Santiago in the foothills of the Andes mountains.
Maturana said there were no immediate reports of damage or deaths, although several sectors of the capital -- home to 5 million people -- lost telephone service.
"It was a moderate to strong one," Maturana told local radio. It prompted widespread alarm, however, since it struck as most people were sleeping.
Power was also cut in the grape growing town of Curico, 120 miles south of Santiago, radio reported.
The quake occurred just days after much of Santiago was flooded by the worst storm in 20 years. Storms across Chile in the last few weeks have left 72,400 people with property damage and 4,311 in shelters nationwide, many in Santiago where several areas where still under water.
An earthquake measuring 7.0 struck northern Chile and Argentina on May 12. One miner died when an underground pit collapsed.
Storm's passage across Chile leaves 60,000 homeless
A doctor examines a family rescued from the floods Thursday
June 15, 2000
Web posted at: 5:43 p.m. EDT (2143 GMT)
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- A powerful storm left some 60,000 people homeless in a midweek rampage across central Chile, flooding low-lying parts of the capital with the heaviest rains in years before diminishing Thursday.
Three days of rain tapered off Wednesday after soaking the capital, Santiago, and a wide swath of the countryside. Heavy snow blocked border crossings with Argentina.
The storm, which brought high winds and rains, signaled the approach of winter in the South American hemisphere.
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Chilean President Ricardo Lagos delayed a flight to Colombia for a regional summit and surveyed inundated farm fields and slum neighborhoods by helicopter, ordering out the armed forces after declaring an emergency.
"The army has spread out to the affected neighborhoods, and is working at the task of removing the mud," said Lagos. While tens of thousands of Chileans remained displaced for a second day, many others began returning home as floodwaters receded.
Health authorities warned Thursday of a possible outbreak of influenza and other respiratory diseases, say a combination of cold weather and water-soaked homes made the elderly and young particularly vulnerable.
In the capital, the departing storms cleared the air and afforded unusually sparkling clear vistas of the snowcapped Andes mountains nearby, giving residents a reprieve from the gritty smog that envelopes Santiago much of the year.
A group of children try to cross a flooded street in Santiago on Wednesday
At higher elevations in the towering Andes chain, heavy snowfall was reported. On Wednesday, key border crossings with neighboring Argentina were reported closed and some 300 trucks stranded. On the Argentine side, authorities reported snowfalls between 1 and 2 meters (3-6 feet) with resort owners rejoicing at the prospect of a surge in skiers.
Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza said the storms, affecting a large portion of central and southern Chile, were among the worst in 20 years and had left some 39,000 homeless in the interior -- the rest in or near the capital.
Hundreds of army conscripts, backed by teams using heavy equipment, were dispatched Thursday to the hardest-hit neighborhoods. The soldiers joined civilians in bucket brigades that cleared water from homes and used shovels to remove mud and debris from neighborhoods and clogged storm drains.
Army trucks were enlisted to move entire families left homeless and calls went out for donations of roofing materials, bedding, clothing, canned foods and disinfectants to clean schools inundated by backed up sewer systems. Many merchants spent the day clearing away water and debris outside their shops.
Some of the homeless were placed in a new community of small homes that was built as government housing project and thrown open to the public ahead of schedule.
Maria Iturra was among the storm victims who pleaded for government assistance. "Our mayor must help us, it is his obligation," said Iturra, who said her modest home was already in bad shape from past rains.
Elsewhere in the capital, most schools suspended classes for a second day Thursday and university students heeded a government call to take part in an aid campaign for the victims. The government opened a bank account for donations.
In order to free $2 million in government aid, Santiago and the neighboring Pacific port of Valparaiso had been declared disaster zones. Valparaiso was hit by flooding, while landslides were reported outside that city.
On Wednesday, some 75 percent of the streets in the capital were submerged at the storm's height. The Mapocho River, which crosses through the capital, overflowed its banks, flooding fields on the outskirts of the city. Many routes into the capital were closed because of the water.
Hardest hit were working class neighborhoods and slums. Many more have been left homeless because of flooding in the interior of the country. |
