8.8 Quake Hits Chile, (News Here)

[dan9999]

Massive Magnitude 8.8 Quake Hits Chile, Killing Dozens
Saturday, February 27, 2010
FOX News

BREAKING NEWS — A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile early Saturday, collapsing buildings, killing dozens and downing phone lines. President Michele Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" in central Chile and said the death toll was rising.

Chile's top emergency official said at least 52 people were killed

Tsunami warnings were issued over a wide area, including South America, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Russia and many Pacific islands.

"We have had a huge earthquake, with some aftershocks," Bachelet said, appealing from an emergency response center for Chileans to remain calm. "Despite this, the system is functioning. People should remain calm. We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information we will share immediately."

Bachelet said "without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths."

In the 2 1/2 hours following the 90-second quake, the U.S. Geological Survey reported 11 aftershocks, of which five measured 6.0 or above.

She urged people to avoid traveling in the dark, since traffic lights are down, to avoid causing more fatalities.

The quake hit 200 miles southwest of the capital, Santiago, at a depth of 22 miles at 3:34 a.m., the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The epicenter was just 70 miles from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river, and 60 miles from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski resorts that was destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.

In Santiago, the capital, modern buildings are built to withstand earthquakes, but many older ones were heavily damaged, including the Nuestra Senora de la Providencia church, whose bell tower collapsed. An apartment building's two-level parking lot also flattened onto the ground floor, smashing about 50 cars whose alarms and horns rang incessantly. A bridge just outside the capital also collapsed, and at least one car flipped upside down.

In the coastal city of Vina del Mar, the earthquake struck just as people were leaving a disco, Julio Alvarez told Radio Cooperativa in Santiago. "It was very bad, people were screaming, some people were running, others appeared paralyzed. I was one of them."

Bachelet said she was declaring a "state of catastrophe" in 3 central regions of the country, and that while emergency responders were waiting for first light to get details, it was evident that damage was extensive.

She said the initial death toll was 16, "but we cannot dismiss the possibility of more," and encouraged people to stay home and not travel unless strictly necessary.

Several hospitals have been evacuated due to earthquake damage, she said, and communications with the city of Concepcion remained down. She planned to tour the affected region as quickly as possible to get a better idea of the damage.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center called for "urgent action to protect lives and property" in Hawaii, which is among 53 nations and territories subject to tsunami warnings.

A huge wave reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, 410 miles off the Chilean coast, Bachelet said. There were no immediate reports of major damage there, she added.

"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a threat to more distant coasts," the warning center said. It did not expect a tsunami along the west of the U.S. or Canada but was continuing to monitor the situation.

The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May 22, 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. The tsunami that it caused killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines and caused damage to the west coast of the United States.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[gusman]

February 27, 2010 12:41 p.m. EST

Santiago, Chile (CNN) -- A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake rocked Chile early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, killing at least 122 people and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin.
Warning sirens were sounded in Hawaii at 6 a.m., although any possible tsunami would not strike for several hours. Tsunamis can travel at 400 to 500 mph, the speed of a jet plane, said Georgia Tech geology professor Kurt Frankel.
A large wave killed three people and 10 were missing on the island of Juan Fernandez, 400 miles (643 km) off the coast of Chile, said Provincial Governor Ivan De La Maza.
On mainland Chile, the task of trying to save survivors and recover the dead was fully under way by late morning. Buildings lay in rubble, bridges and highway overpasses were toppled and roads buckled like rumpled paper.
"This is a major event. This happened near some very populated areas," said Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. "With an 8.8, you expect damage to the population in the area."


The quake struck at 3:34 a.m. off the Pacific coast, about 60 miles northwest of Chillan, Chile, the USGS said. Santiago, the capital, is 200 miles northeast of the epicenter.
At least 33 aftershocks were reported, the most recent being a 6.3-magnitude in Argentina.
"There are really aftershocks like every hour," said Felipe Baytelman, speaking to CNN from Santiago.
Chilean officials took to the airwaves to try to control any jitters.
"We are taking all the necessary measures at this time," Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said.
Bachelet declared areas of catastrophe, similar to a state of emergency, which will allow her to rush in aid. She said the town of Chillan -- which was destroyed by a killer quake in 1939 -- was one of the worst affected.


"I would like to offer my condolences to the families of the 122 people who lost their lives during the earthquake," said President-elect Sebastian Pinera. "The number of victims could get higher."
The capital lost electricity and basic services, including water and telephones. Bachelet said regional hospitals had suffered damage; some were evacuated. A major bridge connecting northern and southern Chile was rendered inoperable, and the Santiago airport was shut down for at least the next 24 hours.
Chilean television showed buildings in tatters in Concepcion, in coastal central Chile. Whole sides of buildings were torn off, and at least two structures were engulfed in flames. Video showed roads that were destroyed and impassable.

The earth's rumbling was felt by millions in Chile and in parts of Argentina, as well. Some buildings were evacuated in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, which is 690 miles from Santiago.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was trying to contact the Santiago-based U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean for an assessment of the earthquake and information on staffers.
As recovery efforts continued in Chile, threat of a tsunami loomed.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning, the highest level, for the entire Pacific region, including Hawaii and countries as far away as Russia and Japan.
"We have information of high-altitude waves that could be seen in the following hours," Bachelet said. "We are evacuating people in lower areas to higher ground."
California and Alaska were under a tsunami advisory.


"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the National Weather Service said in a statement.
USGS geophysicist Victor Sardina said several tsunami waves had come ashore along the Chilean coast; the largest was recorded at 9 feet near the quake's epicenter.
The earliest estimated arrival for a wave that could affect Hawaii is 11:19 a.m. (4:19 p.m. ET), according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
But evacuations of coastal areas began at 6 a.m. Outdoor siren systems in each Hawaiian county sounded simultaneously to alert residents and visitors to evacuate coastal areas.
Saturday's temblor comes weeks after an 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated parts of Haiti and killed more than 220,000 people. The Chilean quake, at magnitude 8.8, was 700 to 800 times stronger.
CNN Chile suffered damage to its broadcast facilities, although it is still actively newsgathering.
Eduardo de Canto, the head of airport operations in Santiago, told Chile's TVN that the terminal in the airport is severely damaged, although he said runways were operational.
Santiago resident Leo Perioto jumped out of his bed in his apartment at the top of a six-story building.
"The whole building was shaking," he said. "The windows were wobbling a lot. We could feel the walls moving from side to side."
Glass shattered at the Santiago Marriott Hotel, but there appeared to be no structural damage, said Alessandro Perez.
Anita Herrera at the Hotel Kennedy in Santiago said electricity was out and guests were nervous.
"Our hotel is built for this," she said. "In Chile, this happens many times."
All but two U.S. Embassy personnel in Chile are accounted for, the U.S. State Department said. No decision has been made about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's planned trip next week to five Latin American countries, including Chile.
Coastal Chile has a history of deadly earthquakes, according to the USGS. Since 1973, there have been 13 quakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher.
Saturday's epicenter was just a few miles north of the largest earthquake recorded in the world: a magnitude 9.5 quake in May 1960 that killed 1,655 and unleashed a tsunami that crossed the Pacific.

[lpinoy]

EWA BEACH, Hawaii - Scientists have confirmed that the tsunami triggered by the earthquake in Chile has reached Hawaii.

The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but the effects of the tsunami were obvious.

Water began pulling away from shore off Hilo Bay on the Big Island just before noon, exposing reefs and sending dark streaks of muddy, sandy water offshore. Water later washed over Coconut Island, a small park off the coast of Hilo.

The tsunami raced across the Pacific Ocean in terrifying force after the magnitude-8.8 quake hit Chile. Officials in Hawaii had ample time to get people out of the potential disaster area, and thousands were evacuated.

Earlier, sirens blared in Hawaii to alert residents to the potential tsunami. As the waves expected arrival drew near, roads into the tourist-heavy Waikiki were closed off. Police patrolled main roads, telling tourists to get off the streets.

On several South Pacific islands hit by a tsunami last fall, police evacuated tens of thousands of coastal residents.

The first waves in Hawaii were expected to hit around midday Saturday (5 p.m. EST; 2200 GMT). Most Pacific Rim nations did not immediately order evacuations, but advised people in low-lying areas to be on the lookout.

More warning ahead of tsunami
Unlike other tsunamis in recent years in which residents had little to if any warnings, emergency officials along the Pacific on Saturday had hours to prepare and decide on evacuating residents.

"We've got a lot of things going for us," said Charles McCreery, the director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which issues warnings to almost every country around the Pacific Rim and to most of the Pacific island states. "We have a reasonable lead time."

In Hawaii, boats and people near the coast were being evacuated. Hilo International Airport, located along the coast, was closed. In Honolulu, residents lined up at supermarkets to stock up on water, canned food and batteries. Cars lined up 15 long at several gas stations.

"These are dangerous, dangerous events," said John Cummings, spokesman for the Honolulu Emergency Management Department.

In Tonga, where nine people died in a Sept. 29 tsunami, police and defense forces began evacuating tens of thousands of people from low-lying coastal areas as they warned residents that waves about three feet high could wash ashore.

"I can hear the church bells ringing to alert the people," National Disaster Office deputy director Mali'u Takai said.

People missing in Chile
On the island of Robinson Crusoe, a huge wave from the tsunami covered half the village of San Juan Batista and three people were missing, said Ivan de la Maza, the superintendent of Chile's principal mainland port, Valparaiso.

Video


Warning sirens
Feb. 27: Msnbc's David Shuster talks with geophysicist Rafael Abreu.
msnbc tv


A helicopter and a Navy frigate were enroute to the island to assist in the search, he said.

A tsunami warning — the highest alert level — was in effect for Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands. An advisory — the lowest level — includes California, Oregon, Washington state, parts of Alaska, and coastal British Colombia.

British Columbia is hosting the Winter Olympic Games, but provincial officials said the venues are not under threat.

President Barack Obama urged people to follow instructions about tsunami warnings

American Samoa Lt. Gov. Aitofele Sunia called on residents of shoreline villages to move to higher ground. Police in Samoa issued a nationwide alert to begin coastal evacuations. The tsunami is expected to reach the islands Saturday morning.


In French Polynesia, tsunami waves up to 6 feet high swept ashore, damaging parts of the coast.

Meanwhile, disaster management officials in Fiji said they have been warned to expect waves of as high as 7.5 feet to hit the northern and eastern islands of the archipelago and the nearby Tonga islands.

A lower-grade tsunami advisory was in effect for the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands. Tsunami Center officials said they did not expect the advisory would be upgraded to a warning.

Wave may travel up to 600 mph
Waves were likely to hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores within 24 hours of Saturday's quake. A tsunami wave can travel at up to 600 mph, said Jenifer Rhoades, tsunami program manager at the National Weather Service in Washington, DC.

Some Pacific nations in the warning area were heavily damaged by a tsunami last year.

In last fall's tsunami, spawned by a magnitude-8.3 earthquake, also killed 34 people in American Samoa and 183 in Samoa. Scientists later said that wave was 46 feet high.

The tsunami warning center said the waves reached the islands so quickly residents had only about 10 minutes to respond to its alert.


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Vote: How much should the U.S. help Chile?

During the devastating December 2004 Indian ocean tsunami, there was little to no warning and confusion about the impending waves. The tsunami eradicated entire coastal communities the morning after Christmas, killing 230,000 people.

The sirens in Hawaii will also be sounded again three hours prior to the estimated arrival time.

Every TV was showing the news. Convenience stores and McDonald's and Burger King restaurants shut down. A few people were on the famed beach, including joggers on the sidewalk, but far fewer than normal. Most seemed to be watching the ocean.


In Hilo, officials cordoned off the first three blocks next to the beach. A few people watched the still ocean as a whale swam off the coast, but streets were mostly empty as tsunami sirens blared. Gas stations had long lines, some 10 cars deep.

The SackNSave grocery store was filled with people buying everything from instant noodles to beer. Shelves with water were mostly empty, save a few bottles.

"They are buying everything we got," clerk Memory Phillik said.

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle said that leprosy patients from the Kalaupapa settlement on Molokai have been moved to higher ground. Helicopters are standing by if the patients need to be moved to a safer area. The settlement is in an isolated area on a peninsula.

Lingle declared a state of emergency as the island chain prepares for possible tsunami damage.

She told a news conference Saturday at the state civil defense center inside Diamond Head Crater that the declaration would allow the release of disaster funds.

Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Pride of America was scheduled to dock in Honolulu early Saturday, but was planning to remain at sea until the Port of Honolulu reopened. “While at sea, this situation does not in any way compromise the safety and security of our passengers and crew,” NCL said in a statement. The cruise line expected the port would reopen at 5 p.m. local time. “Pride of America should be alongside shortly after that and we expect that the next cruise will depart later this evening.”

[dan9999]

First waves of tsunami arrive at Hawaii
From Thelma Gutierrez, CNN
February 27, 2010 5:46 p.m. EST

Honolulu, Hawaii (CNN) -- The first waves of a tsunami from a massive earthquake in Chile have hit the Big Island of Hawaii, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The increasing wave heights began shortly around 11:15 a.m. local time (4:15 p.m. EST), more than five hours after alarms sounded to warn of a tsunami caused by the Chile earthquake early Saturday, which killed at least 214 people.

Residents scrambled to stock up on water and food Saturday as sirens blared across the islands ahead of a predicted tsunami, hours after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile.

Roads to beaches and other low-lying areas were closed and hotels were evacuating vacationers.

At Honolulu's Hilton Waikolua Hotel, guests with cars were heading to higher ground and buses were moving hundreds to an evacuation center set up near the hotel.

At nearby supermarkets, residents stocked up on essentials like water and toilet paper in anticipation of the high waters. One sign at a local store limited families to two cases of spam.

Beaches that would normally be crowded with sunbathers at midday on a Saturday were deserted. Ships and boats littered the coastline a mile offshore as commercial and recreational vessels sought safe waters.

The siren systems in each county were sounding every hour to "to alert residents and visitors to evacuate coastal areas," Hawaii's Civil Defense Division said in a statement.

"Residents will be advised by their respective country civil defense or emergency management agencies to evacuate coastal areas."

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning, the highest level of a tsunami alert, for the entire Pacific region, including countries as far away as Russia, Japan and Australia.

California and Alaska are under a tsunami advisory.

Speaking Saturday afternoon in Washington, President Obama urged people in Hawaii, Guam and American Samoa, also under a tsunami warning, to prepare for the potential tsunami.

"We can't control nature, but we can and must be prepared for disaster when it strikes," he said in a brief statement at the White House.

He told citizens along the Pacific Coast on the U.S. mainland to be prepared as well, as "there may be dangerous waves and currents throughout the day."

The 13th Air Force, in Hawaii, also launched planes with speakers attached to them to alert people in coastal areas not near sirens.

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle said she has declared a state of emergency in advance. Speaking to reporters, she urged people to listen to local officials.

"I think the success that we're going to have in addressing this emergency is really on the shoulders of the people of Hawaii," she said.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Director Charles McCreery said there was no possibility that Hawaii would not see an effect from the earthquake.

"We believe it will be a threat here in Hawaii, that's why we initiated a warning, not only for a Hawaii, but for the entire Pacific," McCreery said.

But he added, "We're not expecting this to be a worst-case scenario, but we are expecting ... dangerous waves coming on shore, and people need to take it very seriously."

Speaking of the evacuations, Shelly Ichi****a, spokeswoman for Hawaii's Civil Defense Division, said people in the evacuation zones -- basically coastal areas -- were "asked to go inland," she said. "We do not have evacuation shelters open."

John Cummings, Oahu Emergency Management Department spokesman, told The Honolulu Advertiser that "If you live anywhere in the evacuation zone, you have to evacuate."

"This is a serious event. We're going to treat this as a destructive-type tsunami."

The state's two U.S. senators, Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka, urged Hawaii residents to remain calm.

"If you live in an evacuation zone I urge you to gather your family and please leave the area," Inouye said.

"It is important to remain calm, listen to the news, and follow the instructions being issued by state and county civil defense officials."

Citing the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the senators said some areas of Hawaii could see an initial 10- to 15-foot rise and that waves could continue for at least six hours.

"We prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann told CNN affiliate KHON.

Earlier Saturday, people rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food, water and other supplies.

"We got lots of water, we got our batteries, we got toilet paper," one woman told KITV, while she stood in a line with other shoppers and their carts stuffed with supplies.

Asked if she was scared, another shopper said, "Very, very. We're from Georgia, so ..."

Businesses in the area said they will be closed all day Saturday, the affiliate reported. Hilo International Airport, on the east side of the island of Hawaii, is closed due to the pending tsunami, according to Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, director of public affairs for the State of Hawaii Department of Defense.

Lingle urged people who do not need to evacuate to stay off the roads so that emergency vehicles and people leaving coastal areas could use the roadways.

"The eyes of the world are on Hawaii right now," she said.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate said his agency and the Department of Homeland Security are closely monitoring the situation.

"FEMA stands ready to assist should a request for assistance be made, and does have pre-deployed assets in Hawaii, including food, water, generators and other resources. We urge all individuals to follow the direction provided by local officials."

Four U.S. military ships will be leaving Hawaii in the next three hours, the military said. It has six other ships and a dozen submarines in port in the state.

Another ship left San Diego, California, because of high seas, the military said.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it was closing commercial ports in Hawaii to in-bound vessels. It also said that "all seaworthy vessels are encouraged to evacuate if possible. All recreational boaters are asked to take immediate safety precautions and avoid the water."

In 1960, a tsunami triggered by an earthquake on South America's west coast destroyed much of downtown Hilo and killed 61 people.

The earthquake had a magnitude between 8.25 and 8.5, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and the waves in Hilo Bay reached 35 feet, but only 3 to 17 feet elsewhere.

Elsewhere, several tsunami waves have come ashore along the Chilean coast after the earthquake, USGS geophysicist Victor Sardina told CNN.

He said the largest was recorded at 9 feet near the quake's epicenter. Another wave of 7.7 feet hit the Chilean town of Talcahuano, according to Eric Lau of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Video from the town showed one car sitting in a large expanse of water.

A large wave on the island of Juan Fernandez -- 400 miles (643 km) off Chile's coast -- killed three people, Provincial Governor Ivan De La Maza said. Ten people were missing.

Although the initial tsunami waves are not supposed to hit Hawaii until mid-morning, McCreery said the threat would persist for hours.

He said the first tsunami waves would sweep across Hawaii in about 30 minutes.

"And then the hazard will go on for many hours, because these waves, they get reflected off the islands, they wrap around the islands, and it becomes a very complex wave field that persists for quite a while."

In the Philippines, state seismologists were monitoring the possibility of waves reaching the Southeast Asian country, the official news agency there reported.

CNN's Mike Ahlers and Carey Bodenheimer contributed to this report.

[dan9999]

Tsunami warnings canceled for all countries
Japan 'cautious' as tsunami alert is canceled

February 28, 2010 5:50 a.m. EST

(CNN) -- Tsunami warnings were canceled for all countries Sunday, a day after a deadly 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile, forecasters said.

"This bulletin is issued as advice to government agencies," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in its cancellation advisory.

"Only national and local government agencies have the authority to make decisions regarding any actions to be taken in response."

Despite the cancellation, Japan remained cautious.

The nation's meteorological agency opted to downgrade the warning without eliminating it entirely. Its prior alert of "major tsunami" was changed to "tsunami."

The quake struck at pre-dawn Saturday, killing more than 300 people in Chile and prompting tsunami warnings and advisories along the Pacific. Chilean officials are expected to announce an updated death toll later Sunday.

Japan, which was hit my waves along its coast Sunday afternoon, was the last country on the tsunami alert.

No injuries had been reported in Japan, authorities said.

However, they urged tens of thousands of evacuees from coastal areas not to return home yet.

The first tsunami -- a 4-inch wave -- hit the Pacific island of Minami Torishima, according to the Japanese meteorological agency.

A few waves later, the tallest one yet at about 4 feet hit the Kuji Port in Iwate, the meteorological agency said. The northern part of the main island could be hit by a tsunami at least 9 feet high.

Sunday's alert was Japan's first major tsunami warning in more than 15 years, the agency reported. In 1960, a tsunami spawned by Chile's 1960 earthquake killed 140 people in Japan.

In the U.S. state of Hawaii, the cancellation occurred nearly two hours after the first waves came ashore. Coast Guard crews said they had found no significant damage to ports or waterways as a result of the tsunami.

But the tsunami center said some coastal areas may see small sea-level changes or unusual currents for the next few hours.

The cancellation "does not mean it is now safe to resume normal activities or re-enter evacuated shoreline areas," the tsunami center said. It said that county civil defense agencies and local police departments would make those determinations.

"There was no assessment of any damage in any county, which is quite remarkable," said Gov. Linda Lingle. "It's just a wonderful day that nothing happened and no one was hurt or injured."

In Chile, tsunami waves came ashore along the coast shortly after the earthquake, U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Victor Sardina said.

The largest was 9 feet near the quake's epicenter, Sardina said.

On the island of Juan Fernandez -- 400 miles (643 km) off Chile's coast -- a large wave killed six people, Provincial Governor Ivan De La Maza said. At least 11 people are missing.

Navigational buoys in Ventura County, California, got minor damage as a result of a 2-foot surge and waves, according to the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

CNN's Kyung Lah contributed to this report

[dan9999]

Chile Cracks Down on Looters after Quake
Cops Enforce Curfew in Hard-Hit City of Concepcion, Ward off Looters with Tear Gas as Death Toll Tops 700

CONCEPCION, Chile
March 1, 2010

(CBS/AP) Police fired tear gas and imposed an overnight curfew to control looters who sacked virtually every market in this hard-hit city as Chile's earthquake toll surpassed 700. President Michelle Bachelet promised imminent deliveries of food, water and shelter for thousands living on the streets.

"We are confronting an emergency without parallel in Chile's history," Bachelet declared Sunday, a day after the magnitude-8.8 quake - one of the biggest in centuries - killed at least 708 people and destroyed or badly damaged 500,000 homes. Bachelet said "a growing number" of people were recorded as missing.

CBS News correspondent Mark Strassman reports that with no electricity and scarce supplies, desperation mounted quickly and some survivors' minds turned to grabbing anything they could find in damaged shops.

The government deployed a reported 10,000 troops to try and maintain control in the hardest-hit regions south of the capital, where soldiers could be seen on the streets.

Paul Simons, U.S. Ambassador to Chile, told "The Early Show" there were no confirmed reports of Americans killed or injured as of Monday morning. But he quickly cautioned that it was still impossible to reach many people south of the capital.

"We may have as many as 1,000 Americans living in the Concepcion area," Simons told "Early Show" co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, adding that U.S. officials had only been in contact with a handful of them.

Simons' point illustrated what Strassman dubbed "a tale of two quakes," referring to the minimal level of damage in the capital city compared to the utter devastation further south.

In Concepcion, 320 miles south of Santiago, firefighters pulling survivors from a toppled apartment building had to pause because of tear gas fired at looters who wheeled away everything from microwave ovens to canned milk at a damaged supermarket across the street.

Looters used long tubes of bamboo and plastic to siphon gasoline from underground tanks at a closed gasoline station.

Eduardo Aundez, a Spanish professor, watched with disgust as a soldier patiently waited for looters to rummage through a downtown store, then lobbed two tear gas canisters into the rubble to get them out.

"I feel abandoned" by authorities, he said. "We believe the government didn't take the necessary measures in time, and now supplies of food and water are going to be much more complicated."

Looters even carted off pieces of a copper statue of South American independence fighter Bernardo O'Higgins next to a justice building.

Efforts to determine the full scope of destruction were undermined by an endless string of terrifying aftershocks that turned more buildings into rubble - and forced thousands to set up tents in parks and grassy highway medians.

"If you're inside your house, the furniture moves," said Monica Aviles, pulling a shawl around her shoulders to ward off the cold as she sat next to a fire across the street from her apartment building.

As if to punctuate her fear, an aftershock set off shuddering and groaning sounds for blocks around.

"That's why we're here," she said.

In another part of the city, eight Peruvian families shared a four-story building - the bravest living inside the cracked building, the others in tents out front.

"We've received help from the neighbors, from passing taxis and from other people who have offered us a coat or something to eat," said Samantha Fernandez, who offered space to boyfriend Jose Luis Jacinto after he fled his room during after the quake.

Bachelet signed a decree giving the military control over security in the provinces of Concepcion and Maule and announced a 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew for all non-emergency workers.

She ordered troops to help deliver food, water and blankets and clear rubble from roads, and she urged power companies to restore service first to hospitals, health clinics and shelters. Field hospitals were planned for hard-hit Concepcion, Talca and Curico.

Bachelet also ordered authorities to quickly identify the dead and return them to their families to ensure "the dignified burials that they deserve."

Bachelet, who leaves office March 11, said Chile needs field hospitals and temporary bridges, water purification plants and damage assessment experts - as well as rescuers to help relieve exhausted workers.

Defense Minister Francisco Vidal acknowledged the navy made a mistake by not immediately activating a tsunami warning after the quake hit before dawn Saturday. Port captains in several coastal towns did, saving what Vidal called hundreds of lives. Thirty minutes passed between the quake and a wave that inundated coastal towns.

The quake damaged houses, bridges and highways in Santiago, the capital, though a few flights managed to land at the airport and subway service resumed. Concepcion's airport remained closed to commercial traffic.

Rescuers searched for an estimated 60 people trapped inside a new, 15-story apartment building that toppled onto its side in Concepcion. Firefighters were lowering a rescuer deep into the rubble when tear gas fired at looters across the street forced them to pause their efforts.

Police officer Jorge Guerra took names of the missing from tearful relatives and friends.

"There are people alive. There are several people who are going to be rescued," he said - though the next people pulled from the wreckage were dead.

The sound of chain saws, power drills and sledgehammers mixed with the whoosh of a water cannon fired at looters and the shouts of crowds that found new ways into a four-story supermarket each time police retreated. Some looters threw rocks at armored police vehicles outside the Lider market, which is majority-owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Across the Bio Bio River in the city of San Pedro, looters cleared out a shopping mall. A video store was set ablaze, two automatic teller machines were broken open, a bank was robbed and a supermarket emptied, its floor littered with mashed plums, scattered dog food and smashed liquor bottles.

"They looted everything," said police Sgt. Rene Gutierrez, 46. "Now we're only here to protect the building - what's left of the building."

The quake generated waves that lashed coastal settlements, leaving behind sticks, scraps of metal and masonry houses ripped in two. A beachside carnival in the village of Lloca was swamped in the tsunami. A carousel was twisted on its side and a Ferris wheel rose above the muddy wreckage. Adobe buildings in Talca's town center were flattened.

State television showed scenes of devastation in coastal towns and on Robinson Crusoe Island, where it said the tsunami drove almost 2 miles into the town of San Juan Bautista. Officials said at least five people were killed there and more were missing.

Bus terminals overflowed with vacationers in Chile's provinces trying to check on their homes. Chile's summer vacation period ends Monday.

In Washington, the State Department urged Americans to avoid tourist and other nonessential travel to Chile. U.S. citizens in Chile were asked to contact family and friends in the United States, whether by telephone, Internet or cell-phone text messaging.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton planned to briefly visit Santiago on Tuesday as part of a five-nation Latin America trip.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.