ONEMI or National Office of Emergency of the Interior Ministry ( es, Oficina Nacional de Emergencia del Ministerio del Interior) is a Chilean

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

dedicated to the prevention, organization, coordination and information relative to

natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...

s. After the

1960 Valdivia earthquake The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami ( es, link=no, Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (''Gran terremoto de Chile'') on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4– ...

a committee was formed to solve problems caused by the earthquake. However, this committee was not dissolved afterwards and in 1974, it acquired by law independent status as governmental office. Other state funded agencies and services that cooperate with ONEMI are

CONAF The National Forest Corporation or CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal) is a Chilean private, non-profit organization, through which the Chilean state contributes to the development and sustainable management of the country's forest resources. C ...

in terms related to forests and wildlife and OVDAS in monitoring volcanoes.

2010 Chile earthquake and trial

ONEMI has faced severe criticism after the

2010 Chile earthquake The 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami ( es, Terremoto del 27F) occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February at 03:34 local time (06:34 UTC), having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking la ...

, the largest earthquake in Chile since the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. Criticism include the lack of coordination with other authorities and the SHOA (Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy). ONEMI, SHOA and the government have been accused of the initial neglect of the tsunami warning sent by the

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) is one of two tsunami warning centers that are operated by NOAA in the United States. Headquartered on Ford Island, HI, the PTWC is part of an international tsunami warning system (TWS) program and s ...

, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Currently several of the members from the SHOA and ONEMI are facing trial in the Chilean justice.Newspaper La Nación - Chile Earthquake 2010 Death Toll, last report (in spanish)
/ref>
/ref> ttp://www.cleveland.com/world/index.ssf/2010/04/chile_earthquake_offers_tough.html Chile earthquake offers tough lessons for U.S. coast/ref>

References

External links

ONEMI's official site

Ministry of Interior (Chile)'s official site
Government agencies of Chile Natural disasters in Chile {{disaster-stub

2010 Chile earthquake and trial

See also

References

External links