Posted on 03/02/2010 4:47:48 AM PST by myknowledge
Looters pillaged shops, homes and even attacked a fire station in the burning Chilean city of Concepcion, as rescuers try to find quake survivors.
Police fired tear gas to try to disperse an angry crowd that set fire to the Bigger supermarket after they were prevented from entering.
Black smoke billowed out over the ruins of Concepcion, one of the cities worst hit by Saturday's 8.8-magnitude quake, which has killed more than 720 people.
"It's full, they have water, food, diapers, but the police won't let us go inside," complained one man standing next to the supermarket after a curfew was extended on Monday in a bid to stop theft and violence.
"It would be fine if they distributed things, or at least sold them to us," grumbled Carmen Norin, 42.
The building's roof collapsed in the fire, injuring a volunteer firefighter in the city of about 600,000, some 500km south of Santiago. One person who emerged screaming, covered in flames, was rescued by the firefighters.
Another store was also set ablaze while other groups climbed atop buses or looted abandoned houses.
"Here, people are even looting fire stations," sighed Conception fire department chief Jaime Jara.
"We understand that people need to eat, but looting hospitals and clinics... How can we serve our people?" he said.
One person was shot and killed and at least 160 were arrested for violating the first curfew imposed in Chile since the end of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in 1990.
Hundreds of troops were deployed to Concepcion alongside police as part of President Michelle Bachelet's deployment of 7,000 soldiers to the quake zone.
People raked through the ruins of supermarkets, taking everything they could find.
"If they have basic foods, milk, flour, water, diapers for babies, the order is to not arrest them," said Carlos Huerino, a police inspector. "But if they have a television, they'll arrest them."
Bachelet declared a state of emergency on Sunday and Concepcion was placed under a curfew that was extended from 8pm on Monday until noon on Tuesday in a bid to restore order.
"Where they looted yesterday, there is nothing left. They took everything in the supermarkets and the pharmacies," said a 55-year-old cashier who declined to give her name.
At a dairy market, a man threw containers of milk from a balcony to people below while others made off with sacks of flour.
But the crowd scattered as a truck mounted with a water cannon pulled up along with an armoured car and two buses carrying some 30 police in riot gear and brandishing truncheons.
The first troops to arrive were generally welcomed by residents desperate for a return to normalcy.
Amid the looting, rescue teams on Monday night focused on the disaster area around a 14-storey Concepcion apartment building that crumpled to the ground in the quake.
With other residents still trapped, a father emerged alive from the rubble of the building with his wife and two children and told of the "indescribable" feeling of falling six floors and escaping unscathed.
"We just had our children in our arms and we fell. It's indescribable. I said 'God, help us!'" said Alex Tapia, an Ecuadoran sailor renting an apartment with his wife Rosa Maria.
After the shaking stopped, the family were buried in the dark. They clawed a tiny hole in a wall and Tapia shepherded his family through the mangled apartment basement to a larger opening and to freedom.
We learn the hard way that law and order is as fragile as an egg, and when a major disaster strikes, the egg is broken and the yolk is the citizenry.
Where is all the humanitarian aid that poured into Haiti? There are lots of hungry children in Chile too. I heard Hillary brought a few cell phones. Great job Hill.
The tragic situation in Chile today is very different from the situation in Haiti. The activities by frightened Chileans today would be matched by Americans during a great crisis.
Humans always live on the edge of barbarity. That's the human condition.
South Central LA, Watts, NOLA. No difference.
Stealing food and water to survive, okay. Setting fires because your pissed that the government is taking care of you fast enough, No.
The makeup of a country and its people illustrate it all.
I think a dark time is coming, and I think a lot of Americans believe that after 2 or 3 days the supermarkets will be full again, and in the worst case scenario, the government will send trucks full of supplies to help everyone out.
No. That's not going to happen.
“law and order is as fragile as an egg, and when a major disaster strikes, the egg is broken and the yolk is the citizenry”
not always. depends on the people.
This is one of the reasons I have a large cache of food and ammo. People start this crap almost immedicately after any natural disaster. I watched a survival show a few months ago, one of the speakers said “we are only 9 meals away from anarchy”.
Jose Smith is a survivalist and has stored two months food supplies. His neighbor Jesus Jones thinks Smith is nuts, and has no supplies. Quake happens. Smith is prepared Jones is not, but he and some fellow neighbors break into Smith's stuff and steal the lot in order to survive. So you contend this is OK?
I disagree that Stealing food and water to survive, okay
The thing that makes little sense to me if it was only about food, is how there were stories of supermarket looting over the weekend. Less than 24-48 hours after the quake. In a place known for the worst quakes in the world. Did the govt ever suggest to people to stockpile food (at least several days worth)? I wonder how many are looting so they can SELL the foodstuffs to others?
To clarify, things are back to normal here in the capital of Santiago.
They need to start cracking down on looters in the worst way possible (I would prefer shooting...they could shoot them in the leg like The Terminator if killing makes people uncomfortable) just like Charleston, SC did after Hurricane Hugo in 89. The police cheif came out and said they would shoot and ask questions later if they caught looters. Guess what, the looters stopped!
Only in the epicenter is it a disaster (but make no mistake that it is reaching a disaster, especially with the way the people are behaving). As they say, “poor folks have poor ways.”
They are getting regional support with most needed items (field hospitals, bottled water, etc), and Clinton just brought down some 20 sattelite radios which is going to be a huge help (that is not sarcasm).
More is on the way...but I wish the new conservative could take over sooner than the official date of the 11th. He campaigned as being tough on delinquency...I think most people would support a show of power here.
I know people down there, and the looters not only sacked a clothing store, but they also set it on fire (some have suggested that this was done to distract security so they could move on to the next store). The store was one block from where these people I know are living.
“I disagree that Stealing food and water to survive, okay”
I’m with you. This is one of the things that came out of Katrina. Now it is ingrained in the American psyche that as soon as disaster strikes, it’s time to go “shopping” at Wal Mart. The excuse is “I just want food and water....”.
The looting in Chile started before anyone had missed more than a meal or two. Now, because of looters, everyone might starve.
That is why looters should be shot on sight. To do anything less is to condemn the entire population to a prolonged disaster.
Yes I have been waiting for George Clooney to have another telethon But heck, George Lopez hasn’t even shown up yet!!
What is the difference between the 2 earthquakes?
That's exactly true! It is also why it is a good idea to have a firearm and ammunition available.
Yes I have been waiting for George Clooney to have another telethon But heck, George Lopez hasn’t even shown up yet!!
What is the difference between the 2 earthquakes?
When we finally got electricity back on Sunday morning here in Santiago, we saw a reporter interviewing looters at a grocery store (Lider, which was recently bought by Wal-mart). A very large lady got very defensive with the reporter who asked her about looting, and claimed that she was “starving to death” and that her children needed food (from the looks of her, her kids needed food because she was eating it all first!). This was just over one day after the quake, in a place where most of the buildings are still up. I can confirm that the people I know in Concepcion are not looting.
Also, I heard the suggestion that the fires being started are done with the intention of distracting the limited secturity so that they can go ransack the next place. I believe it.
We are going to test that theory in the next year or two. It will be interesting times, indeed.
Previous posters commented "that's why I stockpile guns and ammo", but part and parcel of that plan is to prepare yourself to take another life, if necessary. I advise everyone to mentally prepare for the tough times ahead, as the shock of the New Order will no doubt traumatize many and render them ineffective in a crisis scenario.
For every proactive survivor there will be a basket case sitting on the curb, shocked that somebody just ate her cat.
As for me, I'll be eating cats!
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