(ANS - Santiago) - A new earthquake shook Chile on the afternoon of Wednesday 16 September. The quake hit the North, the Centre and the South. "We still do not have all the data. It seems that there were no victims among Salesians, but during the night there were more than seventy powerful aftershocks and we do not know if they have caused damage. In the community of La Serena, close to the epicentre, all are safe and so far there has been no damage," says the Provincial Fr Alberto Lorenzelli in an email to ANS.

The National Seismological Centre calculated the strength of the earthquake at 8.4 on the Richter scale.  The epicentre is in the North, forty-six km west of Illapel in the Coquimbo region. The duration and strength of the earthquake, along with the tsunami alert for the coastal area, caused concern and alarm in the population in different regions.

The National Emergency Office of the Interior Ministry declared a red alert across the country.

Despite the difficulty of communication due to the lines being overloaded, the Provincial, Fr Alberto Lorenzelli, managed to get in touch the same night with the Salesian community where the quake was felt most, and with the others, on Thursday morning.

The Interior Minister, Jorge Burgos, reported that, at that time, there were eight dead, victims of collapses, landslides or heart attacks.

The media have given estimates of the damage caused by the sea in the region of Valparaíso. Schools have been suspended in the regions of Atacama and Araucanía, including the metropolitan region as a preventive measure.

This new earthquake comes just days before the holidays.

Fr Lorenzelli concludes, "I am well and so are all the Salesians. But it was long and very violent. In the provincial house it was like being on a ship in a stormy sea. "

Published 18/09/2015