Special report on Japanese tsunami emergency in Pichilemu, Chile

March 12, 2011 On Friday, a strong earthquake in Japan triggered a massive tsunami throughout the Pacific Ocean. Chilean President Sebastián Piñera declared a "preventive tsunami warning" that morning. "I want to express my, and Chilean people's solidarity with the Japanese government and people, who were hit by one of the worse earthquakes and tsunamis in the history of mankind," Piñera said. Later that day, the tsunami first reached Chilean territory in, without causing any damage.

Meanwhile, in Pichilemu, O'Higgins Region, the tsunami warning caused panic amid people. a fisherman told Wikinews.

Schools executed the, a preventive emergency operation against earthquakes, fires, and other emergencies, during Friday morning. The operation, officially called "Cooper Plan", is named after Francisca Cooper, killed in Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami.

During the afternoon, people living or owning stores, restaurants, and kiosks near the beach began to take their belongings away, due to the potential damage the tsunami would cause. Police officers did not allow cars to pass by the nearest street to the beach, the Costanera Avenue, especially in the Government area; however, curious people traveling on foot were able to see the strong waves hitting the Pichilemu shoreline before the eventual tsunami. The was used mostly for that purpose, until  (Chilean equivalent to the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation) told people to leave the area because "it was dangerous."

At around 16:30 local time (19:30 UTC), the Intendant of O'Higgins Region, Rodrigo Pérez Mackenna, arrived at Pichilemu Municipal Stadium in a helicopter, to inform Mayor Roberto Córdova of what he and other authorities should do because of the emergency, according to reports.

Fishermen took their boats away from the beach. "I don't want to lose it [the boat] again, we were already very affected by the February 27 earthquake and I just don't want that to happen again; we still have time," a fisherman, Manuel González said.

At around 21:30 local time (00:30 UTC), heavy rain began to fall in the city. Most of the people who evacuated to the quickly went back to their houses, despite most of them being too close to the beach to be safe. Some of them preferred to stay in refuges provided by the : the Pichilemu Municipal Gymnasium, and the Pueblo de Viudas Primary School. Fabricio Cáceres said on  that "people should stay calm," and that the tsunami "would not be any worse than February 27's." Personnel of the, the Pichilemu Fire Bureau, and kept on patrolling the city's streets.

The Pichilemu Hospital, located around 100 meters from the beach, was moved temporarily to the facilities.

The tsunami waves finally hit Pichilemu at around 03:30 local time (06:30 UTC) on Saturday, damaging some kiosks that were too close to the beach. In Playa Hermosa, around three kilometers south of the center of the city, the tsunami even reached houses and, but caused no damage. Some reports on Radio Entre Olas say that the tsunami reached up to 70 meters inland. According to, , Pichilemu's Caleta de Pescadores (Fishermen Creek, almost completely destroyed on February 27, 2010 after that day's earthquake) suffered minor damage.

The tsunami warning was lifted in most of Chilean territory but ",, [sic], , , , and ," by Sebastián Piñera at 10:45 local time (13:45 UTC) on Saturday.

Governor of Cardenal Caro said that "around 10,000 people were evacuated in Pichilemu to  or ," and that the tsunami was "just meters away from affecting the [Cardenal Caro] province government building."