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　　The country of Chile is struggling to recover from one of the most powerful earthquakes in history．The quake struck the South American nation early Saturday morning．It registered 8．8 on the Richter scale．Ex-perts say the earthquake in Chile is among the five most powerful earthquakes ever recorded．

　　The epicenter of the earthquake is about 70 miles north of the city of Concepci6n．The area has been rocked by dozens of aftershocks since the big quake hit on Saturday morning．

　　On Sunday, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet updated reports on the toll the earthquake has taken．“It’s an enormous catastrophe,” she said．Countless buildings and roadways have been destroyed or badly damaged．Rescuers continued to work around the clock to find survivors who may be trapped under the rub-ble of fallen buildings．Government officials estimate more than 2 million people have lost their homes．

　　Bachelet assured people that food and medical aid were on the way．Ten thousand members of the Chil-ean military have been dispatched to help in the relief and recovery efforts．Many of the country’s major gro-cery stores have started giving away basic food and supplies to people in the affected areas．Secretary-Gener-al of the United Nations spoke to President Bachelet by telephone．He assured her that the United Nations“stands ready to assist the Chilean government’s rescue and recovery efforts ”．

　　The earthquake in Chile comes less than two months after the 7．0 magnitude earthquake that Haiti suf-fered in January．Although the earthquake in Chile was more powerful than the one in Haiti，the damage is unlikely to be as severe．Earthquakes are more common in Chile，and many buildings and homes there are constructed to withstand tremors better．Also，the area of Chile most affected by this earthquake is not asheavily populated as Port-au-Prince, where the epicenter of the Haitian quake was located．Furthermore, Chile is one of South America’s richest, best-organized countries．Its government has more supplies and people available to effectively respond to national emergencies．

　　The energy released by the quake caused shock waves to roll across the Pacific Ocean in the form of tsu-namis(海啸)that have the potential to do great damage to coastal areas．Some of these waves struck the Chilean coast，causing major damage to seaside towns．Coastal communities in Russia，Japan，and the Unit-ed States were concerned，too，but there were no reports of severe damage from the waves that eventually reached the countries’shores．

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