CHILE, FIVE DAYS LATER - A PARTIAL UPDATE

Here is a partial overview of the situation in Chile, five days after the massive, 8.8 magnitude earthquake.

Today the central Chilean coast was rocked by a pair of powerful aftershocks (5.9 and 6.0 magnitude, respectively) which provoked false tsunami warnings and sent frightened coastal residents running for high ground (see AP photo, from the Chilean city of Constitución, right).

The outgoing president of Chile, Michele Bachelet, whose term expires next week, has been soundly criticized for her government's response to the disaster, and NPR reports that some have said that the impending power transition to the incoming administration of president-elect Sebastian Piñera has complicated the government's handling of the disaster.

One of the strongest criticisms of Bachelet's response has been her hesitation in sending in troops of the Chilean army to augment the carabineros (police) to help to restore order in the worst-hit areas. President-elect Piñera has been careful not to interfere with Bachelet's efforts as current president to deal with the crisis, but he has made it clear that he would have sent in the army immediately. Piñera, who is one of the richest men in the world, will assume the mantle of the Chilean presidency next week.

Regardless, Bachelet says that her administration has been working closely with Piñera's transition team. Piñera, for his part, says that "this is not a time to assign blame but rather for all Chileans to work together to solve the country's huge current problems.

Today President Bachelet spoke about how severely the economy of Chile had been hit by the double whammy of the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunamis, which had killed, by the most current count, over 800 people. She listed multiple major sectors of the Chilean economy that had been severely impacted, including agriculture, trade, mining, industry, building and tourism. "The rail system is not working, neither are some industries such as the Huachipato steel complex due to serious damage." She also reported that the Huachipato industrial port "was unusable."

Bachelet also said that much of the fishing industry and wood processing plants "were also paralyzed." By today, she had dispatched some 14,000 soldiers to patrol the worst-hit areas.

An ABC news report today concentrated on the economic impact, stating that the tsunami that had demolished the major port of Talcahuano, near Concepción, had thrown huge 50-ton fishing boats onto dry land and obliterated smaller fishing vessels, effectively wiping out the ports' lucrative anchovy and sardine fishing business.

Inland from Concepción, the important national artery, the Panamerican Highway (Ruta 5, which is the nation's only north-south highway) had suffered the collapse of scores of bridges and suffered countless numbers of gaping crevices splitting apart the asphalt, effectively paralyzing the lifeline for numerous industries, including the nation's renouned farm-raised salmon industry. Some of the salmon fishery executives were trying to figure out a way to possibly truck their fish over the Andes and into Argentina for transport to Buenos Aires in an attempt get their product to market and keep from losing a fortune. ABC warns that the U.S. consumer should expect higher salmon prices at the market.

And the significant wine industry was especially hard hit. It is grape harvest time in Chile, and with the roads busted up so badly there will be problems trying to get the grapes from the vineyards to the wineries, plus the telecommunications system still is very badly damaged, so vintners are having trouble reaching employees by phone or internet to discuss the harvest. The damages to many vineyards will translate into higher production costs, which will likely be reflected in cost and availability issues in the retail markets. Some vineyards have had casks burst and bottled product smashed, so this significant Chilean industry will be significantly affected for some time to come.

Financially, Chilean stocks saw their losses accelerate today after the reports came in of the strong aftershocks from Concepción. Chile's IPSA equity index fell 1.5% to 3,705. The index has fallen more than 3% since Monday's opening, following Saturday's quake.

Still, some glimmers of good news have emerged in today's news. Chile's Public Works Minister Sergio Bitar reported today that"port activities are recovering." And an article posted on Bloomberg.com said today that the important central Chilean Port of San Antonio (near my favorite resort town of El Tabo) has returned to 80% capacity and that now the main port of Valparaiso is operating normally. Both ports had closed immediately following the earthquake and tsunami on Saturday. Ships carrying grains are currently being given priority over incoming and outcoming vessels at San Antonio, where port authorities are still running tests. However the heavily damaged ports closer to the earthquake epicenter still remain closed.

The Bloomberg.com story also reported that Chile's copper industry is also back to work today. Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, returned to full output, although the industry giant hasn't started shipping copper to San Antonio. Regardless, that mining news was reflected in a 3.45 cent rise in copper futures for May delivery, a full 1% climb, to 3.446 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex Unit.

A story by Laura Bly published today by USA Today mentions that electricity, phone service and public transportation have been restored in Santiago, and now some flights have resumed at the capitol's airport. While the terminal has suffered damage to its customs and ticketing sections, some activities have been temporarily moved into tents, and that 24-hour international and domestic flight schedules will resume on Friday. LAN Airlines, the country's biggest carrier is currently operating at 30% of its flight schedule.

The resumption of air service will fit in nicely with the fact that much of the country's tourism infrastructure is coming back together and that many of the usual attractions like Chilean Patagonia, the Atacama Desert and Easter Island suffered little or no damage. Turismo Chile reports that popular tourist towns like Pucón, Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt in the Chilean lake District are operating normally, as are places such as Torres del Paine and San Pedro de Atacama.

So that is a partial update on the most current conditions in Chile. I will admit that the disaster has brought a corresponding change in my plans to begin my retrospective report that will go back to my initial extended adventure trip to Chile and Argentina, which began right after Thanksgiving in 2002. But that delay will finally be finished when I write my next post in the next day or so. That means that, barring some new clamity from South America, I'll be taking you all along with me as I reprise that wonderful journey of discovery - so check back soon!
Chao, amigos!