Monday Brings A Call For Aid After Chilean Earthquake

SANTIAGO, Chile- The U.S. ambassador to Chile says he knows of no American deaths from the earthquake in Chile, but stresses that officials are having a difficult time getting information from the most devastated region of Concepcion.

In an interview by telephone with CBS’s “The Early Show” on Monday, ambassador Paul Simons said, “We do not have any confirmed reports of Americans who have died.” He added that while officials have been able to contact “a few” of the estimated 1,000 Americans in Chile, “information is still very, very scarce.”

Simons said that while life is returning to normal in the capital of Santiago, the Concepcion area near the epicenter of the magnitude 8.8 quake on Saturday suffers from “major devastation,” where power is out and water is in short supply.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the United States is ready to work “in solidarity” with Chile’s leaders to help the country recover from a devastating earthquake.

Clinton tells reporters traveling with her in Uruguay that Chile has asked for communications equipment. She says she’ll take some with her when she travels to Santiago tomorrow.

Clinton said more help will likely come after that.

The United Nations says it will rush aid deliveries to Chile after the government asked for help in its recovery from this weekend’s massive earthquake.

U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs says Chile officially made its request Monday, two days after the 8.8-magnitude quake struck about 325 kilometers (200 miles) south of the capital, Santiago, and killed over 700 people.

Byrs told the AP that the global body was now “ready to take action.”

Before the request, international aid groups had sent some funds and experts. But their action was limited as Chilean officials were busy assessing the destruction from the earthquake and the needs of up to 2 million affected people.