-
People gather on a street of downtown Santiago the powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Chile on Saturday - Source: Reuters -
Related
Tourist are finally getting out of the quake-devastated Chile as reports of a magnitude 6.1 aftershock shook the country's centre, four days after a massive 8.8 earthquake killed more than 800 people.
The US Geological Survey reported on Thursday that the latest quake, shallow at a depth of 34 km, was centred in the ocean, 39 km west of Valparaiso, and struck 2:59pm NZT (10:59 pm Chile time).
This comes as the death toll from Sunday's quake reaches 882, and the country has since been wracked by some 150 strong aftershocks since.
Chilean authorities are trying to calm down a city on edge, assuring people that the recent tremors were aftershocks. There was no tsunami threat.
The first Lan Chile flight from Santiago since the quake, landed at Auckland Airport on Thursday.
"This is a major milestone - it's our first flight after the earthquake in Chile," says Rodrigo Contreras of Lan Chile.
It has been a long wait for travellers wanting out of a still shaking city.
"When we felt the first aftershocks, I literally thought I was going to die. It was really, really horrible," says one traveller.
Around the world, television images showed houses washed away by swirling waters, cars tossed into shattered buildings and boats lifted into the streets in coastal towns including Pelluhue and Constitucion, where 350 deaths alone were reported.
Fonterra will be among the companies counting the cost of this quake as its subsidiary Saprole is Chile's largest consumer dairy business, employing 1800 people.
"We still haven't been about to contact approximately 40 of them, who are in the worst affected areas," says Kevin Murray, Fonterra Latin America division.
Its four factories are up and running to some extent but it is considering sending a crisis team to the country.
"They would be trades people, you know electricians who can assist with power re-connection, getting plants up and running," says Murray.
Fonterra says it will be distributing supplies from its centres as soon as it can.
