More than 9,000 people were left homeless after a powerful earthquake hit northern and central Chile last week, officials have said, dramatically increasing previous estimates.
The death toll from the 8.3 magnitude quake that struck on September 16 remained at 13, with four still missing, said Deputy Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy.
The number of people left homeless however jumped drastically from 3,500, as officials scour remote towns in the Coquimbo region, more than 260 kilometers north of Santiago, where the quake epicenter was located.
“We hope that by Friday we will have surveyed all of the people who were affected,” Aleuy said.