Crews have been working around the clock to free an estimated 60 people feared trapped in a collapsed apartment building in Concepcion, the city hardest by
Saturday’s 8.8 magnitude earthquake.
Workers spent hours trying to demolish what’s left of the 15-storey building, in hopes of finding any survivors. 24 hours after beginning, only 16 people had been rescued, and 6 bodies recovered.
Authorities have put the death toll from the massive quake at around 300, but do expect that number to climb. They say 1.5 million Chileans were affect and 500, 000 homes severely damaged.
The city has also been rocked by 90 aftershocks with a magnitude five or greater, forcing countless residents to assemble in makeshift tent cities. One of the aftershocks was almost as powerful as the mammoth January 12 earthquake that devastated Haiti. The Chilean earthquake is also said to be hundreds of times more powerful than Haiti’s magnitude-7 quake. The difference is, Chile’s was deeper into the surface of the earth and therefore cost fewer lives.
A tsunami warning was immediately issued for countries in the Pacific: Japan, the U.S. west coast, Alaska and even coastal British Columbia. But these waves have died down and warnings have since been lifted.
The economic damage from the quake is estimated to be between $15 and 30 billion U.S. dollars. The main airport in the capital of Santiago remains shut, along with the subway and seaport. Two oil refineries have also halted production.
In 1960, Chile was hit by the world’s biggest earthquake on record. The 9.5 magnitude quake leveled the city of Valdivia, killing 1, 655 people and leaving two million homeless. Saturday’s disaster matched a 1906 tremor off the coast of Ecuador as the seventh strongest ever recorded.
Statement From Toronto Mayor David Miller
On behalf of all Torontonians, I extend deepest condolences and sympathies to Toronto's Chilean community and in particular to those with family and friends in the areas devastated by yesterday's earthquake.
Toronto is proudly home to thousands of Chilean-Canadians many of whom fled their homeland to escape political persecution under the Pinochet regime and who found sanctuary in Toronto and Canada. Like so many others, the Chilean community is one that makes Toronto the culturally rich city it is today. When tragedies like this occur, it resonates across our city especially coming so soon after the devastation in Haiti.
The thoughts and prayers of all Torontonians go out to all those affected by this disaster.
As with the recent Haiti earthquake, I have asked Toronto's Office of Emergency Management to determine the best way for the city to respond under the terms of City Council's 2006 International Disaster Relief Policy in close co-operation with other orders of government and relevant partner organizations. We stand ready to do what we can to help.
In the meantime, I am suggesting anyone wishing to make immediate donations to relief efforts do so through the Red Cross online at www.redcross.ca, by calling toll free 1-800-418-1111 or at any Red Cross office."