(Thumbnail Image: Flickr)
 
“Authorities say the earthquake toppled more than 500,000 structures, that’s an aerial view for you. It has affected more than 2 million people and seriously damaged the country’s economy.” (HLN)
 
The death toll is at 700 and climbing after Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake. A reporter for GlobalPost tells CBS the earthquake leveled more than just buildings.
 
“…it’s Concepcion, Talcahuano which was completely wiped out, the fishing port and other smaller cities that are completely on the floor, and not flooded but they did receive, get waves that were several meters high or 10 meters high that went well into the urban center.”
 
Smaller quakes are common in Chile, so many buildings were made to withstand the shocks. On FOX News a reporter says, in Chile’s capital—Santiago, many people are already returning to daily life.

“Again, there are a lot of people out looking to see what supermarkets are open and what stores are open to get food for the next few days. March is traditionally the start of the school year and a lot of people come back from their summer vacations. So there’s people are trying to find out when the schools will be open, when can we go back to work.”
 
So far, Chile hasn’t asked for any outside help, but President Obama has said the U.S. will be there if Chile decides it needs assistance. On ABC, the U.S. Ambassador to Chile says while the country has great emergency responders, they might need help in other ways.
 
“… Chile has some of the best in the world. They were some of the first to respond in Haiti. They sent their teams up there, medical teams, and their search and rescue. So, their search and rescue I think they’re very good. Their firefighters, their emergency responders are some of the best in the world. So, that capability they may not need. But other types of more specialized equipment, they’re taking a look at.”

Writer: Amanda Heisey

Producer: Newsy Staff