The first heavy autumn rain fell in central and southern Chile on Wednesday, drenching thousands of survivors of the massive February 27 earthquake still living in tent refugee camps.
Firefighters in Talcahuano — a port city 425 kilometers (260 miles) southwest of the capital Santiago — and the town of Chiguayante moved some 50 families from tent cities to shelters due to pouring rain, an AFP journalist reported.
Concepcion and nearby Talcahuano, with a combined population of half a million, along with the town of Constitucion suffered the heaviest damage in the powerful 8.8-magnitude quake that struck south-central Chile early February 27.
The quake and an ensuing tsunami killed 486 people and caused an estimated 30 billion dollars in damage across Chile.
Chile's National Emergency Office (ONEMI) said that 40 shelters had been set up for quake refugees, including two in Santiago.
However, only 390 people of the 2,800 families still living in tents moved into a government-run shelter, ONEMI said.
Refugees said they were reluctant to leave the tent cities for fear they would lose their few belongings to thieves.
Interior undersecretary Rodrigo Ubilla urged refugees to go to the shelters, especially in the next days as low temperatures are in the forecast.
Heavier rain and even lower temperatures are expected in the next months as the southern hemisphere autumn turns into winter.
President Sebastian Pinera traveled Wednesday to areas hardest hit by the rain after introducing a controversial bill that would raise taxes on large companies and take out public loans to help finance quake reconstruction.
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