ESO 51/07 - Organisation Release

23 November 2007
For Immediate Release

ESO Helps Antofagasta Region after the Earthquake

On November 14 at 12:41 local time, a major earthquake with magnitude 7.7 on the Richter scale affected the north of Chile. The epicentre was located 35 km from the city of Tocopilla and 170 km of Antofagasta.

Two persons died and tens were injured, while buildings were damaged in several cities. In the Maria Elena-Tocopilla area, several thousand homes were destroyed or damaged.

In an act of solidarity with the local community and its authorities, ESO immediately announced a donation of 30 millions Chilean pesos (around 40,000 euros) to Antofagasta's Regional Government to support reconstruction in the Region II.

ESO and its staff have been shocked by the earthquake and its impact on local communities, especially on the people of Tocopilla. The ESO Representation in Chile formally contacted the regional authorities to explore with them possible ways to collaborate in this difficult moment. In addition, many of ESO staff are personally cooperating with the victims, under the coordination of Cruz Roja, the organisation currently in charge of implementing individual efforts.

National contacts for the media:
Belgium - Dr. Rodrigo Alvarez +32-2-474 70 50 rodrigo.alvarez@oma.be
Czech Republic - Pavel Suchan +420 267 103 040 suchan@astro.cz
Finland - Ms. Tiina Raivo +358 9 7748 8369 tiina.raivo@aka.fi
Denmark - Dr. Michael Linden-Vørnle +45-33-18 19 97 mykal@tycho.dk
France - Dr. Daniel Kunth +33-1-44 32 80 85 kunth@iap.fr
Germany - Dr. Jakob Staude +49-6221-528229 staude@mpia.de
Italy - Dr. Leopoldo Benacchio +39-347-230 26 51 benacchio@inaf.it
The Netherlands - Ms. Marieke Baan +31-20-525 74 80 mbaan@science.uva.nl
Portugal - Prof. Teresa Lago +351-22-089 833 mtlago@astro.up.pt
Spain - Dr. Miguel Mas-Hesse +34918131196 mm@laeff.inta.es
Sweden - Dr. Jesper Sollerman +46-8-55 37 85 54 jesper@astro.su.se
Switzerland - Dr. Martin Steinacher +41-31-324 23 82 martin.steinacher@sbf.admin.ch
United Kingdom - Mr. Peter Barratt +44-1793-44 20 25 peter.barratt@stfc.ac.uk
USA - Dr. Paola Rebusco +1-617-308-2397 prebusco@eso.org