Clinton visits Latin America on earthquake in Chile

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's weeklong, five-nation tour of Latin America is certain to focus on the earthquake in Chile, even as she tries to build support for fresh penalties against Iran.

Clinton will briefly visit Santiago, Chile's capital, Tuesday morning. "We want to show America's support for the people of Chile while mindful of the realities on the ground," Clinton aide Philippe Reines said Sunday.

The secretary had been scheduled to go to Chile late Monday for talks with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and President-elect Sebastian Pinera, who takes office March 11. But that meeting has been canceled as Chile struggles to recover from the quake.

Before Clinton left Washington on Sunday evening, she made clear she would show U.S. support for disaster rescue and recovery operations in Chile.

"Our hemisphere comes together in times of crisis, and we will stand side-by-side with the people of Chile in this emergency," Clinton said Saturday after President Barack Obama called Bachelet to offer assistance.

The State Department issued a travel alert Sunday urging U.S. citizens to avoid nonessential travel to Chile.

Clinton starts her tour in Montevideo, Uruguay, at Monday's inauguration of the country's new president, ex-guerrilla Jose Mujica. Mujica's election in November won praise from other left-leaning populist leaders in the region, including Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, a perennial thorn in the side of the U.S. who is cultivating closer ties with Iran.

U.S. officials say Clinton will meet with Mujica but has no plans for separate meetings with other inauguration guests — for example, Chavez or other like-minded leaders, such as Ecuador's Rafael Correa or Bolivia's Evo Morales.

The Obama administration has been pleased by Uruguay's contributions to U.N. peacekeeping forces, and Clinton will encourage Mujica continue that policy, U.S. officials said.

Tsunami hits Japan

Japan evacuated more than 320,000 people today as a tsunami triggered by Chile's massive earthquake sent waves up to 1.20 metres high barrelling into its long Pacific coastline.

Seawater swells inundated buildings in several harbours. Authorities warned coastal communities to stay on high alert and keep clear of the shore as more powerful tsunami waves could follow.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or major property damage.

Japan's "major tsunami alert" -- warning of the threat of monster waves that could top three metres -- was the country's first in more than 15 years.

The Recent Earthquake

The recent devastating earthquake, thousands of times stronger than the one that hit Haiti, struck central Chile on February 27 2010.

More than two million people have been affected by what international media and records have described as one of the five strongest earthquakes ever on record.

But as the first realisation of destruction passed around the world, through television and the internet, the world subsequently prepared itself for the devastating waves that threatened the entire Pacific Rim. About 50 countries on the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand to Russia expected giant waves, in an anticipation of what occurred during the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster which killed more than 220 000 people in December 2004.

But the tsunami waves did not prove to be as high or as destructive as some had expected.

"The power of nature has again struck our country," Chilean president Michelle Bachelet said, cited by international media.

"We are once again put to the test, our ability to deal with adversity and get back on our feet. And we are examining every way to restore all the basic services in the country. But there's still a lot to do" Ms Bachelet said

She said that six of Chile's 15 regions are currently declared "catastrophe zones" in the aftermath of the quake.

The current official death toll stands at about 300 people and it is apparent that Chile is coping considerably better with the disaster than Haiti.