Case study - CHILE

• PRIMARY EFFECTS (caused by ground shaking)

  • around 500 people killed and 12,000 injured - 800,000 people affected
  • 220,000 homes, 4500 school, 53 ports, 56 hospitals and other public buildings destroyed
  • port of Talcahuanao and SanTiago airports badly damaged
  • much of chile lost power, water supplies and communications
  • cos of the earthquake estimated USD$30 billion
• SECONDARY EFFECTS - (tsunamis, landslides and fires)

  • 1500km of roads damaged mainly by landslides - remote communities cut off for many days.
  • several coastal towns devastated by tsunami waves
  • several pacific countries struck by tsunami - warnings prevented loss of life
  • a fire at a chemical plant near Santiago - the area had to be evacuated
• IMMEDIATE RESPONSES

  • Emergency services were deployed quickly. Search and rescue teams were sent out to search for and help survivors and emergency field hospitals were set up to help the injured
  • power and water was restored to 90% of homes within 10 days
  • USD$60 million raised in relief funds after a national appeal, which went towards reconstruction and emergency aid.
• IMMEDIATE RESPONSES

  • within 24 hours, temporary repairs were made to the route 5 nouth-south highway. this reconnected the captain to other areas and allowed response teams to travel to more remote communities
  • international aid groups also set up emergency response units for healthcare and emergency supply distribution
  • Temporary shelters were set up for homeless. Chilean government immediately distributed 5000 temporary shelters, and a further 30,000 temporary emergency shelters were built after fundraising
• LONG-TERM RESPONSE

  • chile set up a national housing reconstruction plan one month after, pledging USD$2.5 billion in housing subsidies for 196,000 households affected
  • thousands of houses and buildings were deemed unsafe to stay standing, and had to be demolished
  • foreign aid was not heavily relied upon as chile had the funds avaliable for reconstruction and recovery. The frequency of earthquakes in chile meant the country was prepared for the disaster
  • the president announced that full recovery could take 4 years, especially to fully reconstruct buildings and ports