Thirty aftershocks shook Chile on Wednesday, among them, two powerful tremors reaching a magnitude of 5.9 and 6.0 on the Richter scale. The shocks afftected the regions of Maule and Bío Bío. So far, more than 100 aftershocks have occurred since the massive 8.8 earthquake on Feb. 27. Experts say this situation could continue for at least 2 months.
The first powerful seism happened at 2:44 p.m. local time (12:44 p.m. EST) with its epicentre located in the region of Bío Bío, at a depth of 22 miles. The second and most powerful, with a magnitude of 6.0, occurred beneath the sea off the shores of the Valparaíso region at 11:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. EST).
So far, the National Office of Emergencies and Information (ONEMI) has confirmed that the death toll has risen to 802, with 500,000 homes destroyed, 19 people reported missing and 2 million injured. Chilean deputy interior minister, Patricio Rosende, added that the number of victims could increase in the upcoming days, but he did not update on the details of the number of deaths for each region.
The frequent aftershocks have caused panic among the population, and while some regret the loss of their homes and businesses, others live in constant fear of losing homes in the next aftershock. Amidst the constant seismic activity, there are questions about how much Chile’s infrastructure can continue to resist such powerful and frequent shocks.
Food aid has begun to arrive to the affected regions under the watchful eye of the military, and the people in the affected regions have started mobilizing to distribution canters. The aid is expected to calm down the explosive situation of violence and looting over the last days, ever since disaster struck last Saturday.
The first powerful seism happened at 2:44 p.m. local time (12:44 p.m. EST) with its epicentre located in the region of Bío Bío, at a depth of 22 miles. The second and most powerful, with a magnitude of 6.0, occurred beneath the sea off the shores of the Valparaíso region at 11:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. EST).
So far, the National Office of Emergencies and Information (ONEMI) has confirmed that the death toll has risen to 802, with 500,000 homes destroyed, 19 people reported missing and 2 million injured. Chilean deputy interior minister, Patricio Rosende, added that the number of victims could increase in the upcoming days, but he did not update on the details of the number of deaths for each region.
The frequent aftershocks have caused panic among the population, and while some regret the loss of their homes and businesses, others live in constant fear of losing homes in the next aftershock. Amidst the constant seismic activity, there are questions about how much Chile’s infrastructure can continue to resist such powerful and frequent shocks.
Food aid has begun to arrive to the affected regions under the watchful eye of the military, and the people in the affected regions have started mobilizing to distribution canters. The aid is expected to calm down the explosive situation of violence and looting over the last days, ever since disaster struck last Saturday.
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