March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Chile asked for international aid to recover from the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 723 people in the South American country as people scrounged for food in hard-hit areas and looters emptied supermarkets.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Chile today to offer support as the country works to repair billions of dollars in damage following the Feb. 27 temblor. Chile asked the United Nations for mobile bridges, electric generators, water purification systems and field kitchens. Brazil will send a field hospital and rescue teams to Chile, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said yesterday during a visit to Santiago.
Bands of looters roamed the streets of Concepcion and the port city of Talcahuano, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) away, emptying supermarkets, stores and homes of food, appliances, and clothes. People collected water from drainage ditches and muddy ponds as taps ran dry and electricity was out for a third day.
Rescuers dug through rubble in the hardest hit areas, including Concepcion, a metropolitan region of about 1 million people 115 kilometers from the epicenter of the powerful earthquake. Military personnel are combing Chile’s coast for people affected by tsunami waves spawned by the quake.
“The scenario changes with each aftershock and each passing hour, but due to the conditions we’re working in and the good weather, we can’t lose hope,” said Santiago fireman Captain Juan Carlos Subercaseaux, who was in Concepcion to assist. He and his team were trying to gain access to a 15-story building that collapsed with dozens of people inside.
Maintaining Hope
Antonio Fuenzalida, 48, watched as firemen cut a hole into the side of the building close to where his nephew Jose Luis Leon’s apartment stood. Earlier, the firemen had pulled out some of his nephew’s clothes.
“I hope he’s alive and in an open space inside,” Fuenzalida said. “We’re trying not to lose hope.”
At least 48 people may be still inside, including a couple on the ninth floor, where rescuers heard tapping, Subercaseaux said. Firemen have pulled nine bodies from the building.
The total economic cost may be as much as $30 billion, or about 15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to estimates by disaster-scenario modeler Eqecat Inc. Insured losses may amount to $3 billion to $8 billion, Eqecat said.
Finance Minister Andres Velasco declined yesterday to give estimates for losses, saying the ministry wants to see data first. The government is focused now on getting help to victims, he said.
Economic Outlook
Bank of America cut its forecast for economic growth this year to 4 percent from a previous estimate of 4.7 percent.
Central Bank President Jose De Gregorio said Chile’s monetary policy will remain expansive in the aftermath of the quake, telling reporters that policy makers will keep borrowing costs at an “appropriate” level to finance the rebuilding.
The government extended a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Concepcion, and broadened it to other cities closer to the quake’s epicenter such as Talca. The military deployed more troops and equipment, including armored personnel carriers that patrolled the streets of Concepcion.
Military commanders said groups of thieves were banding together and moving from business to business, leading mobs of people searching for food and water.
Acrid Smoke
“These are thieves who are taking advantage of the breakdown in order to steal from homes and businesses,” said naval marine First Lt. Francisco Gazategui, as he returned from leading eight soldiers on an all-night patrol.
A plume of acrid smoke billowed into the sky from a supermarket as looters ran off with armloads of food, water and clothes. An army truck pulled up and 16 soldiers in combat gear and assault rifles jumped out to pursue looters and secure the store so firefighters could put out the blaze.
“It’s overwhelming for us because we have no water and our resources are stretched thin,” said Captain Fernando Cartes, who commands a firehouse in Talcahuano. “The horrible part is it’s not the earthquake that started the fires, but looters.”
Of the 723 dead, 544 died in the Maule region, the National Emergency Office said. The region’s more than 900,000 people still have no access to running water and little access to electric power, the emergency office said. Sixty-four of the confirmed dead are in the BioBio region, including Concepcion.
Aftershocks
In the almost three days since the quake struck in the early-morning hours of Feb. 27, the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at least 121 aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or greater. Eight of these aftershocks have magnitudes of 6.0 or greater.
Chile stocks fell the most in almost a month yesterday, the biggest drop among the world’s 50 largest markets, led by Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA, the nation’s biggest power generator, and Lan Airlines SA, the country’s largest carrier.
Salfacorp SA, Chile’s biggest building company, jumped on speculation it will benefit from increased business.
Chile’s peso pared a retreat of as much as 1 percent, losing less than 0.1 percent. Currency trading grinded to a near halt at noon as many traders and support staff at the country’s banks and brokerages left early to check on their families.
Endesa SA’s Chilean unit said about 13 percent of its clients are without power. Two oil refineries owned by Empresa Nacional de Petroleo, Chile’s state oil company, were shut down.
Copper Production
Chilean state copper miner Codelco said its Andina mine was close to resuming some production, as rival Anglo American Plc also ramped up output. Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, reopened its 381,000-ton El Teniente mine after restoring electricity to the mine in central Chile.
Most of Chile’s copper deposits and port facilities are in the northern half of the country and had no reports of damage.
Concerns about supply caused copper for May delivery to climb 6.6 cents, or 2 percent, yesterday to $3.35 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex unit.
Some flights are arriving at the Santiago airport while outgoing air traffic remains closed, Chile’s national emergency service said. Lan Airlines will run a partial flight schedule until March 4, the company said on its Web site. Lan canceled sales of plane tickets to and from Santiago until March 7.
The port of Valparaiso resumed operations at four dock areas, keeping four others shut while possible structural damage is evaluated, operator Puerto Valparaiso said on its Web site.
Stringent building codes and the most highly engineered building inventory in Latin America helped mitigate damage, said Boston-based Air Worldwide, a catastrophe modeling firm that estimated more than $2 billion in insured losses for insurers.
The Feb. 27 earthquake was the world’s fifth strongest since 1900, carrying a force 500 times stronger than the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that last month devastated Haiti, in terms of the energy released, according to the USGS.
--With assistance from James Attwood in Santiago, Matthew Craze on Easter Island, Andrea Jaramillo in Bogota, Ye Xie in New York, Bill Varner at the United Nations, Andres R. Martinez in Mexico City and Rodrigo Orihuela and Bill Faries in Buenos Aires. Editors: Brendan Walsh, Patrick Harrington
Source:businessweek.com/
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