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Chilean Troops Deployed in Hard-Hit City to Quell Unrest

SANTIAGO, Chile — As smaller tremors continued to jolt this earthquake-ravaged country on Tuesday morning, the Chilean government sought to quell looting and unrest in one of the hardest-hit cities by deploying thousands of government troops and extending an overnight curfew until midday.

Chilean newspapers quoted President Michelle Bachelet as saying that the situation in the devastated city of Concepción was “under control,” even though reports indicated that most of the city was still without electricity, phone service or running water.

Ms. Bachelet said the government would be setting up field hospitals and sending aid on boats, and would not tolerate more scenes of looting and arson.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton flew into Chile from neighboring Uruguay on Tuesday morning, three days after one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded toppled homes and knocked out roads and power throughout what is considered Latin America’s most earthquake-ready nation.

Chile’s government, after initially waving off outside aid, changed course Monday as the devastation from the powerful earthquake sank in and the nation’s pressing needs became clear.

With the desperation of many Chileans mounting, the United Nations said that the government had asked for generators, water filtration equipment and field hospitals, as well as experts to assess just how much damage was caused by Saturday’s earthquake, which with a magnitude of 8.8 is one of the largest ever measured.

“Everything is now moving,” said Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “We are looking immediately to match the needs.”

The powerful quake that jolted Chileans awake has left the country reeling. Collapsed bridges and damaged roadways have made it difficult to even get to some areas. Downed phone lines and cellular towers have made it impossible to communicate. And many residents in the most damaged areas have not only taken food from supermarkets, but also robbed banks, set fires and engaged in other forms of lawlessness.

“The looters are more organized,” said the mayor of Concepción, Jacqueline Van Rysselberghe, asking for more troops, Reuters reported.

The quake has also exposed the fact, experts say, that although Chile is one of the most developed countries in the region, it is also one of the most unequal, with huge pockets of urban and rural poor, who suffered most in the quake.

“It’s the poorest Chileans who live near the epicenter,” said Carolina Bank, a Chilean-born sociology professor at Brooklyn College.

It was not just the violent shaking that tore Chile apart, but also the surge of waves that swept in along the coast, damaging homes like that of Edmundo Muñoz, 44, and his family, in Constitución. “Everything was destroyed,” he said.

A growing perception has begun to set in among many residents that the country was not as well prepared as it had thought.

In Santiago, the capital, those left homeless after their brand-new and supposedly earthquake-resistant apartments suffered severe structural damage were furious. Chileans are wondering aloud why food is not getting to the hungry faster and why the politicians and soldiers seem to have been caught flatfooted.

“The government has been very slow to respond,” complained Victor Pérez, 48, who was sleeping in a tent with his girlfriend outside their ruined Santiago apartment building. “We have no water or lights, and most of the stores nearby are out of food.”

The frustration could be heard on Chilean radio, where residents called in to complain that government provisions had been slow to arrive and that almost all markets and stores had been stripped bare of food, water and other supplies.

Here in Angol, an inland town where the streets were strewn with the rubble of collapsed businesses, some basic services were beginning to come back on line, if only slowly.

Electricity was being restored in patches, though many streets and windows remained dark. The main hospital, built to withstand earthquakes, had been rendered unusable, and the closest alternative was almost 90 miles away. Gasoline had started pumping again, and at least 40 cars lined up at a local station. Thirty more people waited on foot in a tense line for gas, holding empty plastic bottles normally used for milk or water. Scuffles broke out, and nerves were frayed.
[New York Times]

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