Coalition for the Ethical Control of Urban Animals (CEFU) executive director Alejandra Cassino estimates more than 700,000 companion animals may be affected by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Chile’s central region on the 27 February 2010. CEFU has called upon other Chilean animal organizations to unite for these victims. Under the banner ‘Animal Relief Chile,’ the coalition provides a national support network to cover veterinary care, resource management, communications, volunteers, etc.

A series of strong aftershocks has rattled Chile, not far from where the deadly 8.8 magnitude quake caused widespread destruction and triggered a tsunami nearly a week ago.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the aftershock early Friday had a magnitude of 6.6 and was centered 41 kilometres northwest of Concepcion, the city hardest hit by last Saturday’s quake. There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The Chilean earthquake may have shortened the length of days on Earth by shifting the planet’s axis by 8cm, a Nasa scientist has calculated.

Richard Gross, a geophysicist at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has concluded the rotation of the Earth should have altered as a result of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday.

It means the earthquake has probably shortened the length of a day by about 1.26 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second).

Mr Gross said the 9.1-magnitude Sumatran earthquake in 2004 has also shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds.

The death toll from Saturday’s devastating earthquake in Chile rose to more than 700 last night as rescue workers fanned out across a 370-mile (600km) stretch of the country searching for bodies and survivors.

President Michelle Bachelet directed rescue operations and toured heavily hit areas as the race continued to provide basic supplies to entire cities that remained without water, electricity or communications. Bachelet said 2 million people were affected by the 8.8-magnitude quake, adding that it would take several days to evaluate the “enormous quantity of damage.”

Based on U.S. Geological Survey figures, Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile could rank as one of the most powerful in history.

If the magnitude of the Chilean earthquake stands, it would be tied as the fifth-strongest earthquake recorded since 1900, when records were first kept. An earthquake off the coast of Ecuador in 1906 also was recorded to have a magnitude of 8.8.

The most powerful earthquake recorded also occurred in Chile, in 1960. It had a magnitude of 9.5. In southern Chile alone, that earthquake killed approximately 1,655 people, and left about two million homeless

The strongest earthquake in recent years – and the third strongest since 1900 – was a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in 2004. That quake spawned the tsunami that killed almost 228,000 people in South Asia.

The 1960 Chile earthquake generated a tsunami that caused 61 deaths in Hawaii, 138 deaths in Japan, and another 32 dead and missing in the Philippines.

Throughout history, the most powerful earthquakes have not necessarily been the deadliest. The deadliest earthquake of modern times was recorded in 1556 in central China. More than 830,000 people were reported killed in that quake, which had an estimated magnitude of 8.

Rescue teams have begun to search for survivors after one of the largest earthquakes on record killed at least 300 people in Chile and sent giant waves roaring across the Pacific Ocean.

In an address to the nation, President Michelle Bachelet said two million Chileans had been affected by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake, however after touring the worst-hit areas by plane, she found it hard to spell out the magnitude of the disaster.

“The power of nature has again struck our country,” Ms Bachelet said, declaring six of Chile’s 15 regions “catastrophe zones” in the aftermath of the quake, which was one of the world’s most powerful earthquakes in a century.

An estimated 1.5 million homes were damaged, highways were sliced to pieces, bridges imploded and buildings collapsed as the earthquake struck the South American nation of 16 million people just before dawn on Saturday about 200 miles southwest of the capital Santiago.

“This is a catastrophe of immense proportions, so it will be very difficult to give precise figures,” Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma said.

Waves well over seven feet high crashed into the Chilean coast after the quake struck at 3.34 am (0634 GMT) and tore out into the Pacific, killing at least five people in the remote Robinson Crusoe islands.

In the Chilean port of Talcahuano, trawlers were sent shooting inland to the town square where they lay oddly marooned next to abandoned cars.

About 50 countries and territories along an arc stretching from New Zealand to Russia braced for giant waves, five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster that killed more than 220,000 people.

More than 70,000 people fled vulnerable coastal areas of Japan as a tsunami slammed into the country’s long Pacific coastline. The first tsunami wave, approximately one foot high, hit Nemuro on the northern island of Hokkaido in the early afternoon. Tsunami alerts in Australia and Russia were later downgraded as the threat passed.

The earthquake has raised a daunting first challenge for billionaire Sebastian Pinera, who was elected Chile’s president in January in a shift to the political right and who takes office in two weeks.

“We’re preparing ourselves for an additional task, a task that wasn’t part of our governing plan: assuming responsibility for rebuilding our country,” he said yesterday. “It’s going to be a very big task and we’re going to need resources.”

The U.S. Geological Survey said it had recorded more than 51 aftershocks ranging from 4.9 to 6.9 since the quake.

In Concepcion, a city of 670,000 people 70 miles southwest of the quake’s epicentre, hundreds of people spent the night outside in tents and make-shift shelters, fearful of the aftershocks.

The city’s old houses made of adobe appeared to have borne the brunt of the damage, but a 15-storey apartment block also collapsed, likely killing or trapping many people inside.

The city was mostly blanketed in darkness, with the only light coming from bonfires and occasional police cars. Crushed cars, downed power lines and shattered glass littered the streets.

The European Union said it would provide three million Euros in immediate assistance. Unlike Haiti, struck by a devastating earthquake last month, Chile is one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries.

U.S. President Barack Obama said America “will be there” if Chile asks for rescue and recovery help, however, Ms Bachelet said her government has not asked for assistance from other countries.

The massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck Chile early Saturday morning has now left at least 120 dead, with the toll expected to rise. The earthquake has also triggered a tsunami that has led officials throughout the Pacific to issue Tsunami warnings.

Coastal cities throughout the Pacific region were bracing for possible tsunamis including the island of Hawaii, which was expected to be hit by a 1-2 meters high tsunami by midday.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Chile and Peru, and a less-urgent tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica as well as the coast of California and an Alaskan coastal area from Kodiak to Attu islands. Authorities in Australia have advised people to stay away from the coast. Japan and Russia also received Tsunami warnings.

The U.S. Geological Survey and eyewitnesses reported more than two dozen aftershocks, including two measuring magnitude 6.2 and 6.9.

There are reports that this earthquake released 500 times the energy of the magnitude 7.0 quake that struck Haiti last month.

A massive magnitude-8.3 earthquake struck near Concepcion, Chile early today (Saturday). The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 0634 GMT at a depth of 59.4km (36.9 miles).

Concepcion is the second largest city in the country, about 450km south of Santiago.

Buildings in Santiago were reported to have shaken for between 10 and 30 seconds, with the loss of electricity in some parts of the capital.

A Tsunami warning is in effect for Chile and Peru. A Tsunami watch is in effect for Ecuador.

Critics are concerned that private military contractors are positioning themselves at the centre of an emerging “shock doctrine” for earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Next month, a prominent umbrella organisation for private military and logistic corporations, the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), is co-organising a “Haiti summit” which aims to bring together “leading officials” for “private consultations with attending contractors and investors” in Miami, Florida.

Read Anthony Fenton’s article in full by clicking on the word Haiti

In the four weeks since the Haiti earthquake, many – albeit not nearly enough – have expressed outrage over the US military takeover of this tiny country. Among the more well-known are John Pilger and Michael Chossudovsky. In his column for the New Statesman, John Pilger describes the “swift and crude” appropriation of earthquake-ravaged Haiti by the militarised Obama administration. With George W. Bush attending to the “relief effort” and Bill Clinton the UN’s man, The Comedians, Graham Greene’s dark novel about exploted Haiti comes to mind.