Chileans are used to tremors and earthquakes, but even so, the nonchalant demeanor of TVN anchor Cristian Pino during a powerful 6.7 magnitude quake this week is worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I4T2gjCDFo
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Santiago on an official visit when the quake struck, but he and his delegation were unaffected.
The quake’s epicentre was 26 miles northeast of Valparaiso, prompting the National Emergency Service ONEMI to order the evacuation of communities along a 400-mile stretch of coastline. According to ONEMI director Benjamin Chacana, some 13,000 people had been evacuated.
It was the second strong quake to hit central Chile since March 25, when a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck. And two years ago the country suffered an 8.8-magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that destroyed much of the southern coastal city of Constitucion.
Notes on the Americas 