Death toll jumps, curfew enforced after looting in Chile earthquake

Law enforcement officers  in Chile are having to deal with an additional problem after an 8.8 earthquake struck in Maule region of Chile. Looters have taken to the streets and the government has responded with tanks and soldiers armed with tear gas. To try and bring some civility back to the earthquake devastated regions Chile, a night curfew is being enforced.

Heraldo Munoz, Chile’s UN Ambassador, told the BBC that he can understood a certain amount of looting at a time like this.

“When it actually happens in this magnitude it is something totally different. You don’t have any electricity. You don’t have water. You’re isolated, as has happened with many communities,” he said.

“Then there’s desperation – ‘what is going to be my next meal?’ And that is what is happening to families with children, with seniors and that’s why some are desperate and they will turn to looting. Others are simply petty criminals.”

So far, over 700 people have been reportedly killed and that number is expected to rise. A subsequent tsunami that resulted from the quake has not helped the situation and is responsible for increasing the death toll. Victims have said that they are without water and electricy in many areas of Chile. Looting, some say, is the only way they can get the things they need to survive.

Still, some consider Chile lucky. While the Chile earthquake was an 8.8, the earthquake in Haiti was a 7.0 and killed over 100,000 people. For Chile to have less than 800 dead so far, is something of a blessing. One resident told Fox Radio that Chile is prepared for earthquakes and that has helped keep the death toll down.

Aftershocks as high as a 6.0 on the Richter Scale have been felt recently.

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