Devastation is everywhere after a tsunami hit San Antonio, Valparaiso, Chile on Sunday, a day after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the country, killing at least 708 people. (AFP)

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) affirmed Monday that there are no Filipino casualties from the 8.8- magnitude earthquake in Chile last February 27, but advised Filipinos in that country and nearby areas to get in touch with the Philippine embassy in case of emergency.

As this developed, the death toll in the massive earthquake and tsunamis increased to over 700 as 350 people in one Chilean coastal town were discovered dead on Sunday as the government tried to get aid to hungry survivors and halt looting.

The government said 711 people had been killed and Chile's president sent the army to enforce curfew and help police stop looting by people desperate for food and water after Saturday's 8.8-magnitude quake, among the world's biggest in a century.

DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said that based on a report by Philippine Ambassador to Chile Consuelo Puyat-Reyes, no Filipino has been hurt, except for an ankle injury sustained by the husband of a Philippine embassy personnel after a wooden plank fell from a cabinet in their bedroom.

He said the name of the injured Filipino was not disclosed by the Philippine embassy in Chile.

There are 75 Filipinos in Chile, most of whom are priests, nuns, engineers, businessmen, and spouses of Chileans.

“There are no Filipinos workers deployed in the country,” Reyes said, adding that there are seven officers and staff members at the Philippine embassy in Chile.

The DFA also said it is prepared to repatriate Filipinos in Chile who would wish to fly home to the Philippines.

DFA Spokesman J. Eduardo Malaya said the Philippine government is prepared to evacuate Filipinos from Chile “if there is a necessity,” adding that the agency will coordinate with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Malaya, however, said he has not yet received any request for repatriation from the Philippine embassy or the Filipino community in Chile.

Meanwhile, Chilean television images showed houses washed away by swirling waters, cars tossed into shattered buildings and boats lifted into the streets in coastal towns including Pelluhue and Constitucion, where 350 deaths alone were reported.

“It's an enormous catastrophe ... there's a growing number of missing people,” Bachelet said, adding that food and medical aid was being sent to help the roughly 2 million people affected by the quake.

The largest building damaged in Concepcion was a newly opened 15-story apartment that toppled backward, trapping an estimated 60 people inside apartments where the floors suddenly became vertical and the contents of every room slammed down onto rear walls.

Widespread disruption to the power supply threatened to hamper Chilean industry's recovery, although Chile's biggest copper mines slowly resumed operations on Sunday.

Copper prices surged in early trading on Monday due to supply worries caused by the earthquake in Chile, jumping 5.6 percent on the London Metal Exchange.

Giant waves set off by the quake crashed hundred of meters into coastal villages near the epicenter, demolishing houses and sending residents fleeing into the hills.

“'I've got nothing left but what I'm wearing. We ran desperately up the hill and watched how the sea washed everything away,” an unidentified woman from the fishing village of Duao told state television.

The government had told Chileans immediately after the quake that there was no danger of a tsunami, an error it said was based on incorrect data from navy experts.

Looting, curfew
In the hard-hit city of Concepcion, about 310 miles (500 km) south of Santiago, about 60 people were feared to have been crushed to death in a collapsed apartment block where rescuers worked through the night to find survivors.

A lack of water, food and fuel sharpened the hardship for the hundreds of thousands of people left homeless.

The government imposed a night-time curfew in Concepcion and the Maule region in a bid to stop looting and army troops began to arrive in the city late on Sunday. Television also showed images of police firing tear gas at looters in Santiago and of youths throwing rocks at officers.

Police used water cannon and tear gas to scatter people who forced open the doors of the Lider supermarket in Concepcion, hauling away everything from diapers to dehydrated milk to a kitchen stove.

Television images showed people stuffing groceries and other goods into shopping trolleys in Concepcion, and a local official in Santiago confirmed that at least two supermarkets there had been looted.

Across the Bio Bio River in San Pedro, others cleared out a shopping mall. A video store was set ablaze, two automatic teller machines were broken open, a bank was robbed and a supermarket emptied, its floor littered with mashed plums, scattered dog food and smashed liquor bottles.

“People have gone days without eating,” said Orlando Salazar, one of the looters at the supermarket. “The only option is to come here and get stuff for ourselves.”

Concepcion's mayor, Jacqueline van Rysselberghe, said the situation was getting “out of control” due to shortages of basic supplies and called for troops to be sent to the city.

The quake poses a daunting reconstruction challenge for President-elect Sebastian Pinera, who takes office in two weeks.

The economic damage from the quake could be up to $30 billion, equivalent to about 15 percent of Chile's gross domestic product, said Eqecat, a firm that helps insurers model catastrophe risks.

Chile's fourth-largest copper mine El Teniente, which accounts for more than 7 percent of national output, resumed operations on Sunday. The nearby Andina mine was also due to resume operations but analysts feared power outages could still curtail supplies.

The quake triggered tsunamis as far afield as Japan and Russia, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage.

In the Philippines, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded two tectonic earthquakes, but quickly dismissed any connection of the temblors with the 8.8-magnitude earthquake which hit Chile.

Phivolcs recorded the first quake at 12:05 a.m. at 5.1 magnitude. It was located 128 kilometers (kms) southwest of Basco, Batanes, with a shallow focal depth of seven kms.

The quake, of tectonic in origin, could have been caused by movement of the Manila trench or a local fault, according to Phivolcs research specialist Rick Mangao.

Phivolcs likewise recorded a 5-magnitude tectonic earthquake at 12:15 p.m. Monday.

The quake, located 16 kms northwest of Mati, Davao Oriental, had an intermediate focal depth of 1 km.

The quake was felt at Intensity 5 in Barangay Mayo, Mati (Davao Oriental); Intensity 4 in Poblacion, Mati (Davao Oriental), and Taragona (Davao Oriental), and at Intensity 2 in Davao City.

Phivolcs ruled out damage from both quakes, but expected aftershocks from the one that hit Davao Oriental. (With reports from Reuters, The Associated Press, and JC Bello Ruiz)