The earth shook and shook on Thursday as dignitaries walked in for the swearing-in of Sebastian Pinera as Chile’s President. It shook some more as they waited for him.
People in the balconies of the vast congressional hall in coastal Valparaiso shouted warnings as a massive light fixture rocked overhead, and heads of state nervously eyed the ceiling. But a steely calm prevailed, and Mr. Pinera strode in smiling.
The 60-year-old president and his ministers then quickly swore their oaths, and the audience of 2,000 headed for the exits and the hills, joining an evacuation called out of concern that Thursday’s repeated aftershocks would set off another tsunami.
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Inauguration Day was peppered with more than a dozen significant aftershocks, amply demonstrating Pinera’s challenges after last month’s magnitude-8.8 quake, one of the biggest in modern history.
Chile’s first elected right-wing president in 52 years won office promising to improve the economy. Now, he says he’ll be the “reconstruction president.” His advice to citizens: “Let’s dry our tears and put our hands to work.”
But relief efforts stalled on Thursday as more than 10 earthquakes shook Chile in a span of six hours. The strongest, at 6.9, nearly matched the 7.0-magnitude quake that devastated Haiti on Jan. 12.
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There were no reports of more deaths, but a key highway suffered more damage in the inland city of Rancagua, and violent waves hit the coastal towns of Pichilemu and Bucalemu, Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter said.
Mr. Pinera urged citizens to heed the Chilean navy’s tsunami warning and seek higher ground. Then he made a show of normality, greeting other presidents for lunch at the Cerro Castillo summer palace, where he left them at the table and boarded a helicopter to tour disaster areas.
“How was your welcome, president?” Mr, Pinera asked Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez. “Moving, moving!” she joked.
The inauguration had lasted just 30 minutes, marked by three of the aftershocks. One prompted Colombia’s Alvaro Uribe to leave the hall for several minutes as an announcer appealed for calm. Outgoing President Michelle Bachelet sat unperturbed as a nearby flower arrangement rocked back and forth.
Mr. Pinera called on Chileans to dedicate themselves to “this colossal job of reconstructing our country, of rebuilding better than what we had before, not just to lift up our schools, our hospitals, our homes, but also to make them better, and also to lift up the soul of our country.”
“I am sure that just as we have done so many times, the Chilean people will rise up to this challenge,” he said.
The Feb. 27 earthquake — the fifth—strongest since 1900 — killed 497 identified victims and potentially hundreds of others, destroyed or heavily damaged at least 500,000 homes and broke apart highways and hospitals. Recovery costs could soar above $15 billion, including $5 billion for infrastructure alone.