Saint Paul sounds the alert in this Sunday's reading from 1 Corinthians that "whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall." Some 2 million Chileans had a firsthand, harrowing experience illustrating that point on Saturday when one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded struck off the coast of central Chile. Some 800 people were confirmed dead and that number is expected to rise.

At midweek rescue crews with dogs were searching the rubble of ravaged cities and villages for survivors. With tensions still running high in areas devastated by the quake and the ensuing tsunami, President Michelle Bachelet urged Chileans to support the relief and reconstruction efforts. She also sought to ease concerns of potential food and fuel shortages in the disaster area.

"There is no shortage, there is enough food and therefore we must remain calm," she said. "There is also enough fuel, there is no risk of shortages." An 18-hour nightly curfew was in place in Concepción, Chile's second-biggest city, where many residents are now homeless and 14,000 troops patrolled the streets to stop looting, keep order, and oversee aid distribution.

Chilean emergency officials and the military blamed each other for not clearly warning coastal villages of tsunamis, angering survivors who lost relatives and friends in the massive waves that followed the quake. "We had no idea, we only found out what was going on because some people saw the ocean swelling and we took off for the hills," said Isaac Lagos, a father of three in Coliumo, a small fishing village just north of Concepción. Forty retirees fleeing a seaside campground in a bus after the quake were among those swept away by the surge.

Bachelet, whose approval rating hit a lofty 83 percent in February, has faced mounting criticism for failing to grasp the scale of the tragedy in the initial hours following the quake. She admitted that rescue efforts have been slow, in part because of mangled roads, downed bridges, and power outages. But observers said officials also misjudged the extent of the damage and initially declined offers of international aid.

Source: Articles by Mario Naranjo and Terry Wade for Reuters, BBC News, the Associated Press, and CBS News