Quake survivors await aid as aftershocks rattle Chile

Despite fears from the aftershocks, crews are focused on providing aid to the most vulnerable.

Aid was flowing into some hard-hit areas Wednesday, but some residents said they still had not received food or water. Security forces also fanned out to stop looters.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet urged residents Wednesday to remain calm despite the shortages and lawlessness in Concepcion, Talcahuano, and other areas of central and southern Chile. For the second consecutive day, she warned that looting will not be tolerated.

"Nobody can argue that taking a refrigerator is an act of survival," Bachelet told reporters. "That is simply vandalism and delinquency."

About 13,000 soldiers had been sent to Concepcion and other cities to maintain order, she said.

An overnight curfew remained in effect for the third day Wednesday in Concepcion, the scene of the worst looting. Authorities said they would take whatever steps were needed to keep order, and 35 people were arrested for curfew violations.

A military presence and citizen patrols appeared to maintain order in the nation's second-largest city, but many stores showed signs of looting.

Food and water were being distributed in Concepcion on Wednesday. The city's mayor, Jacqueline Van Rysselberghe, said the 30 trucks of aid in the city were a good start, but not nearly enough.

Concepcion is less than 10 miles inland from Talcahuano, but the two towns suffered far different fates. In Concepcion, fatalities and injuries resulted largely from buildings that had collapsed.

In coastal Talcahuano, the damage was caused by a tsunami that roared into town about an hour after the quake. When the waters receded, they left large boats stranded inland.

Much of the port city looked as if a bomb had exploded there, with buildings reduced to rubble.

The greatest number of deaths occurred in the Maule region, where disaster also visited two cities in different ways.

In the central city of Talca, an ancient municipality, the earthquake wiped out many older adobe structures, crushing hundreds of residents. Thursday's early morning aftershock struck about 40 miles north of Talca.
March 4, 2010 -- Updated 0932 GMT (1732 HKT)
Concepcion, Chile (CNN) -- More aftershocks rocked parts of Chile early Thursday, five days after a massive earthquake that killed more than 800 people.

A 4.9-magnitude aftershock struck near the already devastated Maule region about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

It came hours after a 6.1-magnitude aftershock struck near Valparaiso, raising fears that damaged buildings could topple.

More than 120 aftershocks of 5.0 magnitude or greater have hit Chile since Saturday's 8.8-magnitude earthquake, USGS geophysicist Don Blakeman said.

The disaster's death toll had risen to 802 by Wednesday, with nearly 600 of those occurring in the Maule region, the National Emergency Office said. Nineteen people were missing, said Patricio Rosende, the country's assistant interior secretary.

It was unclear what the new quake did to the already battered region.

In the seaside town of Constitucion, survivors tried to hold on to the little that remained. Saturday's earthquake had flattened rows of homes, leaving a path of destruction that led to the sea.

Many had left, but Sofia Monsalve Gutierrez and Emilio Gutierrez stayed near the concrete slab that used to be their home. On Wednesday, they were searching for their 4-year-old son.

They had not seen him since he ran from their home and jumped into a boat during the massive earthquake.

"If you know my son, please keep pictures of him. I don't have any pictures left of him. It's very important to me," Sofia Monsalve Gutierrez said.

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