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VALPARAISO, Chile: Strong aftershocks and a tsunami alert rocked Chile and rattled nerves Thursday as rightwing billionaire Sebastian Pinera was sworn in as the new president of the quake-hit nation.
A 7.2-magnitude aftershock and four other tremors triggered the alert, causing panic at the parliament in the coastal city of Valparaiso where Pinera was inaugurated less than two weeks after one of strongest quakes ever recorded.
Many guests, including foreign dignitaries, were visibly shaken, and the parliament was urgently evacuated afterwards.
The largest aftershock, which struck 137 kilometers (85 miles) south of Valparaiso, was a peak in a wave of more than 200 which have shaken the South American nation since the massive 8.8-quake of February 27, which sparked a killer tsunami and left almost 500 confirmed dead.
"I swear," Pinera said as he took the oath of office, inheriting the presidential reins from wildly popular leftwing leader Michelle Bachelet and now left facing the huge challenge of rebuilding the nation.
He later waved from an open-topped car to those who had not fled the area to higher ground in case of a tsunami, after the alert was issued along more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) of nearby coastline.
The National Emergency Office, sharply criticised for its slow reaction to February's deadly quake, swiftly issued the alert for central areas of Chile, although the Haiwaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a "destructive widespread tsunami."
No damage or injured were immediately reported after the quakes, which were felt in neighboring Argentina and even registered as far away as Hong Kong.
Pinera's first task as president was to be a visit to the ravaged coastal town of Constitucion, one of the worst hit by last month's quake and the giant waves that followed, that left some two million homeless.
His January victory spelled an end to the ruling left-wing coalition that has governed Chile since the end of General Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship 20 years ago.
But his presidency will be marked by the aftermath of the quakes.
"We won't be the government of the earthquake, we'll be the government of reconstruction," Pinera said recently.
The 60-year-old not only faces the challenge of reconstruction - which analysts estimate could cost up to US$15 billion - but also takes over from a highly popular outgoing leader.
Crowds waved and cried goodbye to the wildly-popular Bachelet, known to some as the "mother" of Chileans, at the La Moneda Palace in Santiago early Thursday.
Satirical newspaper The Clinic headlined its backpage with the title, "Don't go, mum," in reference to Bachelet, while banners called for the nation's first female leader to stand for president again in 2014 elections.
Pinera, a self-proclaimed centrist, has promised he will build on the policies practiced by his predecessor, rather than replace them.
After vowing austerity during his campaign, he is now expected to ramp up spending, borrow abroad and dip into savings from export revenues from the key copper mining industry.
During his campaign, Pinera deflected accusations of potential conflicts of interest between his political ambitions and his corporate empire.
He also successfully put a distance between himself and Pinochet's dictatorship, which had enjoyed the backing of several right-wing parties now behind the billionaire.
Although Chile's economy shrank two per cent last year, its first contraction in a decade, it was forecast before the quake to grow between 4.5 and 5.5 per cent this year.
- AFP/yb
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