Chile earthquake

Britons are warned against ‘all but essential travel’ to the regions most affected by the earthquake in Chile.

The epicentre of the quake was about 30 miles off Chile’s coast and measured 8.8 on the Richter Scale. The death toll is expected to rise, but is already at 700. Concepcion, Talca and the capital, Santiago, were the most heavily hit.

Hundreds of thousands of people in 53 countries were evacuated from their homes and millions more put on alert after a tsunami from the quake raced across the Pacific.

Also, the regions of Maule and Biobio are now considered ‘states of catastrophe’ and should be avoided by all travelers. Unable to reach The British Embassy in Santiago, Britons in Chile are being asked to ‘follow the advice of the local authorities’.

Approximately 65,000 Britons visit Chile each year. Favourite areas include Atacama, the Lakes region and Patagonia and visitors usually take domestic flights between regions.

“Nobody really drives the full length of the country,” Mike James, Operations Director at holiday company Exodus told TravelMail. “Most tourists will fly to Patagonia either from Buenos Aires in Argentina or Santiago so visitors don’t really travel through cities like Concepcion.”

He continued: “We had one group of ten in the north of the country, in the Atacama region and they didn’t even feel it [the earthquake]. They’re trying to find additional things to do in the small town where they’re staying because they can’t leave until the airport reopens.”

Santiago Airport has been closed since the earthquake, but it could possibly reopen today.