The Chilean supreme court handed down a first sentence against the State, ordered to pay compensation to the family of one of the victims of the 2010 tsunami that followed a violent earthquake that left over 500 dead.
The Chilean media emphasizes that the ruling will set a precedent for other cases filed by families of the victims.
The widow, children and grandchildren of Mario Segundo Ovando Garces were awarded 55-million pesos (around $100,000). The ruling established errors of evaluation by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (SHOA), which after the 27 February 2010 quake had said there was no risk of a tsunami.
Ovando had remained in his home, in the coastal area of Talcahuano, after hearing the view of the experts on the radio. The quake and tsunami killed over 500 and affected some 800,000 people.
In connection to the disaster, charges were brought against the former SHOA head Mariano Rojas, former deputy Interior minister Patricio Rosende, the former director of National emergency management of the same ministry Carmen Fernández and the former head of the Seismology Service at the University of Chile, Carlos Aranda. [VG/BO]