Chile Requests Aid

We do not hear much in North America, but Chile has officially requested aid due to the earthquake on Saturday. Many areas are still unheard from and cutoff from the world. The actual damage is really unknown. Many villages were wiped out from the map after the tsunamis, including where some close family was from (Tumbes). Although the death toll is "only" about 1,000, hundreds of thousands more have no water or food.

Bloomberg reports that trading of the Chilean Peso came to a halt at noon "as many traders and support staff at the country’s banks and brokerages left early to check on their families two days after the country’s worst earthquake in 50 years. Trading in the peso, which closed the day little changed at 524.7 per dollar, was down more than 50 percent and ended two hours before its normal 2 p.m. close in Santiago"


Tumbes (Google Maps link):




From a really sickening video from El Mercurio, the stuff you see is actual floating on water, this is Juan Fernandez, hit by 15m (45ft) wave:



Pictures from newspapers sites: