Concepcion Chile
Concepcion Chile – The death toll from a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Chile early Saturday has risen to 78, Chilean officials said.
President Michele Bachelet declared a “state of catastrophe” and said the death toll would rise.
“Without a doubt, with an earthquake of this magnitude, there will be more deaths,” the president said.
The epicenter was only 115 km from Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city with a population of 200,000 people.
A Xinhua reporter in Santiago said that when the earthquake struck, he felt his house shaking and heard a squeaky sound for nearly 40 seconds. Shortly after that, electricity was disrupted and everything fell into darkness.
Telecommunications also were disrupted, with almost all telephone and mobile phone services down, the reporter said.
Many people in the neighborhood ran out to the street and waited to see what to do. Helicopters were seen hovering in the air.
Concepcion Chile
Tags: catastrophe, Concepcion Chile, Darkness, Death Toll, Deaths, Doubt, electricity, Epicenter, Helicopters, Magnitude Earthquake, Michele Bachelet, Mobile Phone Services, Neighborhood, population, Santiago, Southern Chile, Telecommunications, Xinhua
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