Chile: Tempting fate?

On Friday Chilean President Sebastián Piñera admitted that the government has not done enough to rebuild coastal areas affected by last February’s earthquake and tidal wave. “It has taken us much longer than people would have liked and we know that we are still behind but not from lack of initiative” said Piñera to the press.

Since Piñera ‘s comments were made a number of tremors have shaken the same region hit by last year’s major tremors. Perhaps one can call it a case of sheer coincidence:

An earthquake measuring 6.6 magnitude on the Richter scale hit off the coast of central-southern Chile Monday, causing no casualties or material damage…

The northern Chilean region of Atacama was struck by a series of moderate quakes last week, causing panic among the local population as the geologists have been warning of an eventual outbreak of tectonic energy in the region.

On Friday a 6.8-magnitude earthquake was registered in Concepcion, capital of the central-southern region of Bio Bio.

Image- AFP via Herald Sun (“Shaky ground: A local resident hurries to abandon the waterfront after an earthquake in Constitucion, south from Santiago, on February 11, 2011.”)
Online Sources- La Tercera, The Latin Americanist, Xinhua