Offices were evacuated in Santiago after strong aftershocks At 11:39am the first of several aftershocks rocked the Santiago Metropolitan area.  The first one was recoded at a magnitude-6.9 with epicenter located 147kms (93) SW of Santiago in Litueche.  Less than 20 minutes later, at 11:55 am a magnitude 6.2 was recoded.  A slightly smaller magnitude-6.0 aftershock followed at 12:06, again with the... 

President Sebastián Piñera Echenique President-elect Sebastián Piñera is preparing to take power in Chile with his inauguration set to take place today. The future President began an intense round of bilateral meetings on Wednesday morning where he welcomed 19 foreign delegates from different countries, including the Presidents of Colombia and Bolivia and the Prince of Asturias. The first... 

NASA scientists have been studying the earthquake According to a recent study done by Chilean and American researchers at the Ohio State University, the magnitude-8.8 earthquake that rocked the west coast of Chile on February 27th was strong enough to move the city of Concepcion at least 10 feet/3.04m to the west and the capital, Santiago, about 11 inches/28cm to the west-southwest. The quake also... 

The transportation company for passengers and cargos, Tur Bus, informed the public that for today, Monday 8th, they will offer free transport for any package under 10 kilograms, from Santiago to the city of Concepción, one of the most affected areas by the earthquake. These packages will be received today, between 8:30 am and 6 pm, at the branch office of the company located at Ruiz Tagle Street N°... 

Goods retreived from looters included whitegoods and televisions Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has said that the full weight of the law will come down on looters. Michelle Bachelet traveled to the Bío-Bío region on Sunday to monitor efforts to recover the items looted by the population after the February 27th earthquake. The President said in a press release that those people who stole items... 

Chile helps Chile The 25 hour Chilean telethon called “Chile ayuda a Chile” (Chile helps Chile) raised $30.1 billion pesos ($59.2 million U.S. Dollars) over the weekend.  The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pledged up to $10 million dollars to Chile from the United Nations fund for earthquake relief.  “Chile helps Chile” aims to build at least 30,000 temporary... 

Extensive Damage in some areas Santiago Since the massive 8.8 earthquake in Constitución last Saturday morning, I have been bombarded with questions from friends relating to the recent earthquake, as have many others who like me, are geologists.  I am a geologist working in mineral exploration but like most geologists I have general knowledge of many of the areas covered in geology. I also work... 

LAN Chile's Main Airline As the South of Chile is suffering from severe constructional damage, the capital of the country, Santiago, got off relatively lightly as no serious damage on buildings was reported. However, Santiago’s principal airport Arturo Merino Benitez was closed for two days due to some serious damage of the terminals. Currently airport operations are at 50% capacity with estimates... 

The largest English language forum in Chile, www.allchile.net, has been mobilizing its extensive ex-pat resources to help those effected by last weeks mega-quake.  Charles Spencer, the owner of ALLCHILE.NET has posted the following message in the forums: Postby admin on Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:54 pm WE HAVE A PLANE / Doctors!!!! We Need Donations for fuel!! We have a plane!!!! We also have 2 American Doctors... 

Deputy Interior Minister Patricio Rosende The death toll was revised downward on Thursday as authorities reviewed discrepancies in the reported number of dead in the Maule region. The casualty count in Maule, originally reported at 587, included more than 200 people who are missing but not confirmed dead, said Deputy Interior Minister Patricio Rosende. Therefore, the official nationwide death toll...