Martial law in Chile

President Bachelet declared a state of siege on the basis that it was necessary to maintain order and distribute aid. Government officials blamed looters for interfering with the rescue and aid effort.
So far, the death toll from the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami stands at 723 and is expected to rise. Many who are now missing are believed to have drowned at sea, while others are still buried under the rubble. Some 1.5 million homes were destroyed, many of them wiped out by the tsunami.

For such a large earthquake, it would seem that the death toll should be far higher, unless the buildings and infrastructure were designed to face a huge earthquake with low casualties.

Beyond the immediate death toll, what is the impact of this 8.8 Mw earthquake on Chile and the world?

EU pledges three million euros

The European Union says it is readying some 3 million euros ($4 million) in immediate aid to help Chile cope with the aftermath of an earthquake that has killed at least 300 people.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement he was "deeply shocked at the extent of the devastation" in Chile as he announced the European Union's intention to do whatever it took to help.

Chile earthquake: tsunami warnings trigger evacuations across Pacific
The devastating earthquake in Chile has triggered a tsunami which is radiating across the Pacific and has already caused serious damage on the islands said to have inspired Robinson Crusoe.

By David Barrett
Published: 1:37PM GMT 27 Feb 2010
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Chile's President Michelle Bachelet declares a 'state of catastrophe' Photo: AP

Chile well prepared for quakes

By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

It is not possible to predict the time and magnitude of an earthquake, but certain places on the Earth know they are always at risk from big tremors. Chile is one of those places.
It lies on the "Ring of Fire", the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim.

== PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT ==

***This event has been revised.

Region: OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE
Geographic coordinates: 35.846S, 72.718W
Magnitude: 8.8 Mw
Depth: 35 km
Universal Time (UTC): 27 Feb 2010 06:34:14
Time near the Epicenter: 27 Feb 2010 03:34:14
Local standard time in your area: 27 Feb 2010 06:34:14

Location with respect to nearby cities:
104 km (65 miles) WSW (246 degrees) of Talca, Chile

By IANTHE JEANNE DUGAN

PORT-AU-PRINCE—Doctors here are bracing for another onslaught of patients, as emergency workers leave the country and thousands of surgeries done after the January 12 earthquake need to be redone.

For a good overview of the US-based health volunteers and disaster response, please see:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMp1001737?query=TOC

An excellent video about the rebuidling of Haiti.

Haiti: The politics of rebuilding

A product of Al Jazeera's "Fault Lines" television series, here is the synopsis from their website:

Just weeks after the earthquake that took more than 200,000 lives and devastated Haiti's capital city, a new normalcy is taking shape in Port-au-Prince.