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1 March 2010
Latest news from the Ministry of
Infrastructure inform that Santiago’s International Airport, Comandante
Arturo Benitez, COULD OPEN on Friday, 5th March 2010, to re-establish
international departures. National departures COULD BE RE-ESTABLISHED within
24 hours.
ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO ENTER/LEAVE CHILE
The Libertadores Pass, which
connects Santiago and Mendoza is opened. Public buses are starting to
operate normal services towards that city. This would allow some passengers
to take flight from there to Buenos Aires and from there to their final
destination:
These services can be hired
directly from the passenger.
Below follows an update of the areas that were
and were not affected,. Those listed are predominantly tourist areas.
AFFECTED AREAS
First of all it is important to
reinforce that most touristic areas such as San Pedro de Atacama, the Lake
District and Patagonia were not affected at all by the earthquake. This
means that all passengers visiting these places felt the quake as a small
tremor. Santiago remains calm and the hotels are functioning normally. The
main focus of the earthquake was 350 kilometers south of Santiago. Please
see below for further details.
We haven't got an official
statement from the airlines yet so it is hard for us to foresee for how much
longer the airport in Santiago is going to remain closed.
Altiplano (Arica, Iquique, Calama)
Everything is working on in this Region. Excursions are being held normally
and hotels are operating well and receiving travellers. Roads are also in
good condition for travelling either by bus or by car.
Atacama (San Pedro, Antofagasta)
Everything is working on in this Region. Excursions are being held normally
and hotels are operating well and receiving travellers. Roads are also in
good condition for travelling either by bus or by car.
Norte Chico (La Serena, Valle del Elqui, Copiapó)
Excursions are being held normally and hotels are operating well and
receiving travelers. Roads are also in good condition for travelling either
by bus or by car.
Easter Island
Excursions are being held normally and hotels are. Roads are also in good
conditions for travelling either by bus or by car.
Juan Fernández Islands
This area was completely hit by tsunami waves. Roads, ports, and the
airport is in a terrible condition. There is no way of getting into the main
island or getting out of there. There is no availability of hotels nor are
excursions being held in this archipelago.
Valparaíso & Viña del Mar
Valparaíso’s new part of the port, where all cruises arrive, is opened,
although the old part of such port suffered from some damage and it is
therefore closed. It is expected that the old part will open quite soon.
Excursions are being held normally and hotels are operating. Roads are also
in good condition for travelling either by bus or by car.
Santiago
Roads to the south of the country have some interruptions and deviations;
towards the north and the coast, roads are in good condition. In Santiago,
the damage has been of different proportion, but in general the tourist area
remains unaffected
Wine Region (Santa Cruz and surroundings)
This region was heavily affected both because of the magnitude of the quake,
but also due to the fact that adobe was the preeminent material that locals
use for construction. Old houses and buildings suffered major damage.
The Maule Region suffered serious damage in all of the main cities and small
towns. Places like Curicó, Parral, Talca and Linares whose old buildings
were constructed in adobe, simply collapsed causing the loss of many lives.
The Tsunami that struck the coast of this area created more damage and small
coastal towns simply disappeared.
Concepción
The area of Concepción, the second largest town in Chile, suffered the
consequences of the 8.8 Richter Scale magnitude quake heavily.
Communications with this area in particular have been very difficult. Water
and electricity are slowly returning back to normal.
Northern Lake District
Temuco and Pucón have reported some damages. Valdivia has also suffered to
some extent.
Southern Lake District (Puerto Varas, Puerto Montt, Chiloé)
The Earthquake was felt as a mild tremor in the Lake District. No buildings
were damaged and it was barely noticeable compared to the rest of the
country. The only issue here could be that since connectivity is difficult,
some goods like gas are becoming a bit scarce.
Patagonia
The quake was not noticed in Patagonia. Places like Torres del Paine, Punta
Arenas and Puerto Natales are in perfect condition.
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