723 dead and over 2 million people homeless.
 Chilean authorities on Monday tried to help hundreds of thousands of earthquake victims lacking water, electricity and food after last weekend’s temblor.
The death toll from Saturday’s magnitude 8.8 quake stands at 723, while some 2 million people have been affected by the disaster.
On Monday, authorities commenced the shipment south from Santiago of food rations, which will be distributed in many affected towns throughout the region.
Also, authorities are working to open up the highway connections between the capital and the southern part of the country, while domestic flights were set to resume from Santiago’s airport, where the arrivals of flights from abroad have been increasing given that the runways and control tower systems were not damaged by the quake.
Finance Minister Andres Velasco announced the postponement or suspension of required tax payments in the regions affected by the disaster.
Despite the curfew de-creed in the province of Concepcion, residents of towns like Chiguayante, San Pedro de La Paz, Hualqui and Lota, as well as Coronel in the neighboring province of Arauco, told the media that they lived through a night of terror on Sunday as they were harassed by groups of looters that wanted to pillage their homes and neighborhoods.
Residents of the towns near Concepcion city complained that, despite the vandalism, there was no military or police presence there.
Mayor Jacqueline Van Rysselberghe said that the 1,500 members of the security forces to be deployed in the city were “insufficient.”
Chile’s deputy interior minister, Patricio Rosende, reported that 55 people were arrested for violating the curfew and another 105 for looting, but he characterized the day as generally “calm,” with some “minor foci” of disturbances.
There was also looting in Santiago, Talca and Constitucion, according to local residents, and they said that - especially in the provinces - they continued to have no potable water or electricity and were experiencing erratic telephone service.
Police Gen. Rodrigo Ortega said in Santiago that there were 16 attacks on supermarkets, of which 11 were foiled by police.
Also on Monday, the mobilization of international aid started as about 50 doctors and three mobile hospitals arrived in neighboring Argentina.
In Geneva, Chile officially asked the United Nations to send teams to evaluate the damage and said that the country mainly needed mobile bridges, satellite telephones, electric generators, mobile hospitals, surgical equipment and dialysis centers.
The European Union an-nounced that it was going to be sending medical and technical assistance to the area.
Also, the Bolivian government announced that in the coming days it would send water, food and medicine, and the Peruvian government said that it is ready to send to Chile emergency aid and a rescue brigade.
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