Asia-Pacific

People participate in earthquake drill in Chile

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-10 11:07

SANTIAGO, Chile - Some 50,000 people participated on Thursday in an earthquake and tsunami drill in Arica city, north Chile, the Chilean National Emergency Office (Onemi) said.

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Onemi said the drill was a "success." The drill began at 11:50 am local time with the flight of two planes from the Chilean Air Forces.

The drill was carried out for an earthquake of 8.2 degrees at the Richter scale, followed by a tsunami.

After the alert, the people were directed to safe areas established 10 meters over the flooding lines marked by the Army.

Onemi's National director Vicente Nunez stressed the importance of the drill. "It is a valuable tool to approach the civil protection to the people, to strengthen the early alert systems and to create awareness about the self-care to safe lives," he said.

Central and southern Chile were hit by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake on January 27, followed by a tsunami, which killed some 500 people.