Santiago de Chile, Sep 17 (Prensa Latina) The morning was long and tortuous in most of Chile and many can barely sleep: an earthquake of 8.4 degrees on the Richter scale left terrible consequences to the southern country.
As I write this note, I return to perceive tremors. The quake occurred at 19:54 local time yesterday, but the string of aftershocks already exceeds twenty, some pretty strong.

The best advice, pay attention to the corner of one eye, and take it patiently with the other. There is not even an earthquake palliative let alone tsunamis, two natural phenomena without effective human response.

The president of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet, showed in her face this morning the mood in a situation that overflows her and rundown. From Thursday night Chile enters the Independence Day revelry.

In her opening remarks when meeting with the press at the Palace of La Moneda, the president admitted the blows of nature that often receives Chile, sent her deepest sympathy to the victims and promised help.

In fact she had just met with several ministers, the Interior and Security, the General Secretary of Government, Finance and Public Works, as well as exchange with the heads of the Onemi and the Shoah.

Onemi, National Emergency Office, confirmed through its director, Ricardo Toro, that three deaths so far with several serious injuries as a result of the violent earthquake.

For its part, the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy (SHOA) kept the Tsunami Alarm for the entire coastal area, except Region XII of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica.

Exactly at 19:54 hours began the earthquake, qualified for the National Emergency Office of 8.4 degrees on the Richter scale, and located in Illapel and Canela Baja, in the central region of Coquimbo.

The consequences are still uncertain. First the aftershocks continuity increases fears of another earthquake and then the trains of waves cause a slight but dangerous tsunami by the force of its waves.

Disconcerted, President Bachelet said that it would be measured within hours the activities designed for the start of the National Holiday without ensuring her presence because of the duty to appear at disaster areas.

In Illapel the wreckage were notorious as images of the news channel TVN 24 hours, as in other cities and municipalities in the Midwest, the earthquake or the tsunami avalanche.

The diagnosis is still partial, but we know there is damage. "So far we know that while there was a tsunami, the latest wave trains have been declining, but we know that there may be aftershocks", Bachelet said.

With the experience of earthquakes in her two terms of Government (the worst in 2010 of 8.8 degrees and more than 500 deaths), the dignitary was poised to face the panorama and "monitor the minute 'events.

In a few hours she will move to the most damaged areas and then determine whether to declare disaster areas or national state of emergency, as happened.

But the truth is that thousands of Chileans are currently at the highest points in the environment of coastal edges, fearing tsunamis.