She said the intelligence the agency received after the quake was very vague and inaccurate, and nobody was able to make a decision to issue a tsunami warning.
Commander of Chief of the Chilean Navy Edmundo Gonzalez acknowledged that the information transmitted to the presidency via the SHOA was "very unclear."
Two hours after the quake, then-president Michelle Bachelet phoned the navy and asked whether the tsunami warning was still necessary, but the navy didn't even know how to answer, he said.
Statistics showed the twin disasters, the earthquake and the tsunami, have killed almost 500 people and caused an estimated 30 billion U.S. dollars in damage to infrastructure in Chile.
Related:
Chile makes preliminary estimate of damage after earthquake
SANTIAGO, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A preliminary estimate shows Chile needs 30 billion U.S. dollars for repair following the 8.8-magnitude earthquake on Feb. 27, President Sebastian Pinera said Tuesday.
The cost accounts for 18 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), Pinera said while meeting with leaders of the right-wing Coalition for Change. Full story
Quake-caused damage to reach 30 bln USD: Chilean gov't
SANTIAGO, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Chilean Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter estimated on Tuesday that the damage caused by the devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake and the ensuing Tsunami on Feb. 27 will reach 30 billion U.S. dollars.
He also said that 500 people have been confirmed dead in the quake, while 200 others remain missing. The majority of the casualties were at the coast areas. Full story
Chile Navy replaces official who failed to warn of tsunami
SANTIAGO, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Chile's Navy has fired a senior official who failed to warn of the deadly tsunami that followed Saturday's quake and also restructured its Oceanography and Hydrography Service (SHOA), it said in a Friday statement.
"The Navy's chief office has decided to relieve Capt. Mariano Rojas Bustos of his post as director of SHOA and replaced him with Capt. Patricio Carrasco Hellwig," the statement said, describing the goal of the change as "seeking to reestablish the credibility of this important technical body." Full story
Tsunami threat wanes, warnings lifted after Chile's quake
BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Several countries and regions have lifted their tsunami warnings as the threat of sea waves triggered by Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake were not as strong as thought to be.
Nicaragua's Pacific coast canceled the tsunami warning after the powerful quake in Chile as the waves monitored so far were too weak to pose a threat to normal life, Nicaragua's disaster relief officials said Saturday. Full story
