Chile's emergency chief resigns

11 Mar 2010, 10:03 am   -   Source: AAP
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The head of Chile's emergency management agency has resigned, an official said, after admitting she was slow to respond to last month's earthquake and tsunami.

The head of Chile's emergency management agency Onemi has resigned, an official said, after admitting she was slow to respond to last month's huge earthquake and deadly tsunami.

Carmen Fernandez is the second Chilean official to have lost her job in the aftermath of the February 27 quake and tsunami that killed close to 500 people.

On Friday, outgoing President Michelle Bachelet fired the head of the navy's Oceanography Service for failing to provide a clear warning of the killer tsunami.

Fernandez's resignation comes on the eve of president-elect Sebastian Pinera's inauguration and amid an ongoing blame game between Onemi and the navy for their failure to issue a tsunami alert that could have saved hundreds of lives.

"We were blind and speechless" in the few hours after the quake struck, Fernandez said days ago. "We had a breakdown in communications and I acknowledge that."

Pinera, a billionaire tycoon, had recently asked that all officials involved in the tsunami alert system stay in their jobs, including Fernandez.

So far, 497 bodies have been identified in the aftermath of the disaster, but hundreds of others remain unaccounted for. An estimated two million people have been affected by the quake.

On Wednesday, the regional development authority reported that electrical power and running water had been largely restored to the regions of Biobio and Maule most affected by the quake.

It said 65 per cent of telephone links were also restored in the two regions.

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