Effects of mega-quake in Chile

Local media have called the destructive disaster that hit Chile a mega-quake. It killed hundreds of people and left two million without a roof over their head. Photo: City of Concepcion.

Chile has not been rocked so violently for 50 years; now Chileans are being shaken by recurring tremors rather than enjoying the early days of the warm South American fall. Authorities are busy patching damaged roads, bridges and houses, and urging the public to remain calm. Photo: City of Concepcion.

Police authorities still walk the streets of Concepcion, the city near the epicenter of the earthquake.

Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter pledged that national forces “will maintain order in the region.” Photo: Chilean troops on the streets of quake-ravaged Concepcion.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, on instructions from President Dmitry Medvedev, sent two transport planes with medical specialists and a mobile field hospital to Chile. The area experienced another earthquake on March 11. Photo: Effects of the earthquake in Concepcion.

Chile borders the Pacific Ring of Fire, which registers 85% of all underground shocks in the world.

The Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago was the worst-hit building in the capital.

Santiago residents say the damage was the heaviest to buildings in poor neighborhoods in the city’s suburbs (1,500 buildings were damaged). High-rises in the center went untouched: they are capable of withstanding earthquakes up to magnitude of 7 or 8 on the Richter scale. Photo: A monument to Salvador Allende in front of La Moneda Palace in Santiago.

The tallest skyscraper in Latin America passed the quake test with flying colors according to Chilean residents. The building is 200 meters tall with 100 floors and suffered no noticeable damage.

Calls to help quake victims are often heard on Santiago’s streets.