Dear Clients, you may have already received information from the press / Internet regarding the heavy earthquake that happened in Chile this Saturday at about 3.30 a.m. local time.
With a magnitude of 8.8 on the Richter scale, it is one of the world’s worst earthquakes during the last century. The epicentre was about 325 kilometres southwest of Santiago. The earth quake was followed by a Tsunami that caused further damages and fear on the Chilean coast.
Especially the southern regions of Maule and Bío Bío are affected, also the second largest city of Chile Concepcion. Currently, there are over 700 dead people, however, many more are expected in the areas around Concepcion, since there is still no data available about the remote regions. Approximately two million people were affected by the earthquake and the subsequent Tsunami, and around half a million houses are damaged.
The state of emergency was imposed on some areas. It will initially run for 30 days to guarantee public order and enable a faster delivery of aid supplies. In addition, the government sent 10,000 soldiers. The U.S., the EU, and several other countries and international organizations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, assured their support and are preparing for a comprehensive relief operation.
Santiago is little affected, but in some areas electricity and water supply were also cut. The telecommunications are working again, nevertheless, the international lines are heavily overloaded. The important tourist regions of northern Chile, Patagonia, and the Lake area around Puerto Montt have been spared by the earthquake.
On Sunday a few airplanes with special authorization arrived at the damaged airport of Santiago de Chile. A spokesman said that an official reopening of the airport could not be expected before Tuesday. Currently, there is no air traffic in Chile, neither between the airports in the regions. Once the flight situation has normalized, we are able to realize all trips normally, as the tourism infrastructure in Chile is almost not affected.
Fortunately, the employees of travelArt and their families are not hurt. Our offices in Santiago, Puerto Varas, and Punta Arenas are also undamaged.
All of our offices are fully functional with internet and reservation system, and we are working hard to find the best solution for each of our customer.
travelArt will inform you about any news, and get in contact especially with those clients who currently have travelers in the regions of Chile.
This post is also available in: German