Constitución, Chile

Constitución
—  City and Commune  —
Map of the Constitución commune in the Maule Region
Constitución Location in Chile
Coordinates (city): 35°20′S 72°25′W / 35.333°S 72.417°W / -35.333; -72.417Coordinates: 35°20′S 72°25′W / 35.333°S 72.417°W / -35.333; -72.417
Country	Chile
Region	Maule
Province	Talca
Government[1]
– Type	Municipality
– Alcalde	Hugo Tilleria Torres
Area[2]
– Total	1,343.6 km2 (518.8 sq mi)
Population (2002 Census)[2]
– Total	46,081
– Density	34.3/km2 (88.8/sq mi)
– Urban	37,202
– Rural	8,879
Sex[2]
– Men	23,389
– Women	22,692
Time zone	CLT [3] (UTC-4)
– Summer (DST)	CLST [4] (UTC-3)
Area code(s)	56 +
Website	Municipality of Constitución

Constitución is a seaside resort, industrial (paper and pulp) city, minor port and commune in Chile, located in the Maule Region, Talca Province.

History

Church in Constitución

8.8 magnitude 2010 earthquake

After the devastating 8.8 magnitude 27 February 2010 earthquake of Chile and subsequent tsunami, an estimated 350 people died in Constitución alone.^[5] Two weeks before the earthquake, the local people had been trained to head for the hills if unable to stand during the tremor, as the likelihood of a tsunami was high.^[6] The tsunami was estimated to be 15m high.^[7]

Pedro Muñoz, a fisherman, with his skiff, rescued celebrants of the end of summer from an island on the Maule River, making two trips between the island and the riverbank, before being swamped and killed by the third tsunami wave, on his third trip.^[8]

Constitución was damaged by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Restoring power in the city in the immediate aftermath was impossible because of damage from the tsunami.^[9]

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Constitución spans an area of 1,343.6 km² (519 sq mi) and has 46,081 inhabitants (23,389 men and 22,692 women). Of these, 37,202 (80.7%) lived in urban areas and 8,879 (19.3%) in rural areas. The population grew by 14.2% (5,741 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.^[2]

Administration

As a commune, Constitución is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Hugo Tilleria Torres.^[1]

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Constitución is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Pablo Lorenzini (PDC) and Pedro Pablo Alvarez-Salamanca (UDI) as part of the 38th electoral district, (together with Curepto, Empedrado, Pencahue, Maule, San Clemente, Pelarco, Río Claro and San Rafael). The commune is represented in the Senate by Juan Antonio Coloma Correa (UDI) and Andrés Zaldívar Larraín (PDC) as part of the 10th senatorial constituency (Maule-North).

References

1. ^ ^{a b} (Spanish) "Municipality of Constitución". http://www.constitucion.cl/. Retrieved 1 January 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} (Spanish) "National Statistics Institute". http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php. Retrieved 9 September 2010. 
3. ^ "Chile Time". WorldTimeZones.org. http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-time.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
4. ^ "Chile Summer Time". WorldTimeZones.org. http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-summer-time.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
5. ^ Time Magazine, "Chile: Prepared for the Quake but Not the Tsunami", Tim Padget, 1 March 2010 (accessed 4 March 2010)
6. ^ Time Magazine, "Chile's President: Why Did Tsunami Warnings Fail?", Eben Harrell, 2 March 2010 (accessed 4 March 2010)
7. ^ (French) Agencia Angola Press, "A Constitucion, l'eau est montée à 2 m dans les maisons, celles qui restent", 4 March 2010 (accessed 4 March 2010)
8. ^ CNN, "Chilean fisherman faced tsunami to save others", Karl Penhaul, 9 March 2010 (accessed 9 March 2010)
9. ^ Wall Street Journal, "Chile Power Firms: Slow Process Restoring Power In Quake Zones", Matthew Cowley, 2 March 2010 (accessed 3 March 2010)

External links

• (Spanish) Municipality of Constitución