Chileans fearful of aftershocks camped outside on Sunday in towns shattered by a massive earthquake, as officials struggled to grasp the scale of damage to transport, energy and housing infrastructure.
One of the world's most powerful earthquakes in a century hammered Chile early on Saturday, killing more than 400 people as it toppled buildings and triggered a tsunami that surged across the Pacific to as far as Japan and Russia.
While the apparently low death toll could be considered a lucky escape from such a strong temblor, the quake dealt a serious blow to infrastructure in the world's No. 1 copper producer and one of Latin America's most stable economies.
Tsunami waves killed at least four people on Chile's Juan Fernandez islands and caused serious damage to the port town of Talcahuano.
On the other side of the Pacific, Japan's northeastern coast registered waves of up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) and officials feared bigger ones could be coming.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula were told to evacuate after the quake but there were no immediate reports of damage.
Two million people in Chile have been affected by the earthquake, said President Michelle Bachelet, adding that it would take officials several days to evaluate the "enormous quantity of damage."
The earthquake has raised a daunting first challenge for billionaire Sebastian Pinera, who was elected Chile's president in January in a shift to the political right and who takes office in two weeks.
"It's going to be a very big task and we're going to need resources," Pinera said late on Saturday.
Questions:
1. How many people in total have been killed by the quake?
2. How many people have been killed by tsunami?
Answers:
1. More than 400
2. At least 4
(中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Julie 編輯)
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.