Friday, February 26, 2010











MAJORITY OF INTERNET CONNECTIONS TO CHILE ARE DOWN, OPEN NODES ON SATELLITE AND FIBRE OPTIC CONNECTIONS SURVIVE. FIRST HAITI, NOW CHILE!!! WE ARE BEING WARNED!

At 10:34 PM Pacific Standard Time on February 26, an earthquake with preliminary magnitude 8.5 occurred near the coast of central Chile . (Refer to the United States Geological Survey for official earthquake parameters.)
35.83S 72.67W
FRENTE DE LA COSTA DEL MAULE, CHILE

100 km (60 miles) NNW of Chillan, Chile
100 km (65 miles) WSW of Talca, Chile
115 km (75 miles) NNE of Concepcion, Chile
320 km (200 miles) SW of SANTIAGO, Chile
8.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits ChileSANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - A massive magnitude-8.5 earthquake struck near Concepcion, Chile, early on Saturday, the USGS reported, shaking buildings and causing blackouts in parts of the capital of Santiago.A Reuters witness reported shaking buildings and loss of electricity in Santiago, which is north of the epicenter.The earthquake struck 56 miles northeast of Concepcion at a depth of 34 miles at 3:34 a.m./1:34 EST/0643 GMT. The quake was initially reported at a magnitude of 8.3.The Reuters witness reported a very strong shaking lasted for 10 to 30 seconds.
Population:
16,601,707 July 2009 est.
country comparison to the world: 60
Urbanization:
urban population: 88% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 70%, Evangelical 15.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.1%, other Christian 1%, other 4.6%, none 8.3% (2002 census)
Ethnic groups:
white and white-Amerindian 95.4%, Mapuche 4%, other indigenous groups 0.6% (2002 census)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 180, FM 64, shortwave 17 (1998)
Internet users:
5.456 million (2008)country comparison to the world: 43
Telephones - main lines in use:
3.526 million (2008)country comparison to the world: 43
Telephones - mobile cellular:
14.797 million (2008)country comparison to the world: 45
Illicit drugs:
transshipment country for cocaine destined for Europe and the region; some money laundering activity, especially through the Iquique Free Trade Zone; imported precursors passed on to Bolivia; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, making Chile a significant consumer of cocaine (2008)