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Chilean Troops Distribute Food, Maintain Order

   VOA News 03 March 2010
   Soldiers prepare to patrol streets in Constitucion, Chile

Photo: AP

   Soldiers prepare to patrol streets in Constitucion, Chile, 02 Mar 2010

   Chile's  government  has dispatched more troops to distribute food and
   maintain  order  following  Saturday's  massive earthquake that killed
   nearly  800  people,  caused widespread damage and triggered a tsunami
   that traveled across the Pacific.
   Military  helicopters  carrying  relief supplies landed Tuesday in the
   coastal  town  of  Constitucion,  which was in ruins following the 8.8
   magnitude  quake.   Authorities  also  set  up a makeshift morgue in a
   gymnasium,  where  bodies  lay on the floor for identification and the
   names  of  the  dead  were  posted  outside.   At least 250 people are
   believed missing in Constitucion.
   Elsewhere,  Chile's  second-largest  city  of  Concepcion  is under an
   18-hour  curfew as residents there band together to protect themselves
   against looters.
   Concepcion  was  the  city closest to the epicenter of the earthquake.
   Some  residents  have  taken  security  matters  into their own hands,
   setting  up  roadblocks  to  keep  track  of  everyone  entering their
   neighborhoods.
   Chilean  President  Michelle Bachelet has said looting and lawlessness
   will not be tolerated.  She has instructed troops to act with what she
   called the "severity" necessary to prevent crime.
   Earlier  Tuesday,  Ms.  Bachelet  said  more than 2 million buildings,
   including  500,000  homes,  were  damaged  in the quake and that it is
   impossible to know at this time what can be rebuilt and what should be
   leveled.
   The  president, speaking at a joint news conference with visiting U.S.
   Secretary  of  State Hillary Clinton, said it is not clear how much it
   will cost to rebuild, but that Chile will be receiving aid and support
   from many countries.
   Secretary  Clinton  said the U.S. is ready to help Chile in any way it
   can.   Clinton brought 25 satellite phones with her as an initial U.S.
   contribution,  because  President  Bachelet's government had requested
   communications equipment.
   The  United  Nations said Chile needs mobile bridges, field hospitals,
   dialysis  equipment  and  other  medical supplies, as well as food and
   shelter materials.
   The president said the earthquake is an emergency "unparalleled in the
   history  of  Chile."   The Andean nation on the western coast of South
   America  is  in a seismically active area.  It was hit 50 years ago by
   the  strongest  earthquake  recorded  in modern history -- a magnitude
   9.5.   The quake that struck Saturday is among the top eight strongest
   earthquakes ever measured.
   Japanese  Prime  Minister  Yukio  Hatoyama  said  an emergency medical
   mission  has  been  sent to Chile.  He promised up to $3 million in an
   emergency grant for recovery efforts.
   China's  state news agency says authorities in Beijing are offering $1
   million in humanitarian assistance.
   Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

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