A 6.6 magnitude aftershock shook Chile earlier today, sending people in the streets and forcing hospital evacuations.
The quake was the largest since last Saturday’s 8.8 magnitude quake severely damaged the city of Concepcion. Doctors at a Concepcion hospital were forced to remove some patients outside because of the temblor.
Following assessments Tuesday, World Vision staff distributed water, food, blankets, diapers and other infant items in the town of Dichato, located about 40 miles north of Concepcion.
Dichato, which was shaken by today’s aftershock, was substantially damaged both by the quake and resulting tsunami.
“In Dichato, there’s nothing, nothing,” said Paula Saez, World Vision’s communications manager in Chile. “The damage is incredible because they have been hit twice – once with the earthquake and a second time with the tsunami. There is death everywhere: dead dogs in the street, dust, garbage. It’s devastated.”
Shortly thereafter on the other side of the Pacific Rim, a 6.5 magnitude quake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Tsunami warnings were not issued.
Edi Firmanto, a resident of the Sumatra coastal town of Bengkulu, said people fled their homes and rushed to higher ground.
“I woke up when I heard my wife screaming in panic and got out with our two children and headed up a hill,” Firmanto said, according to the Associated Press.
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