智利举行守夜仪式纪念地震亡者

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has attended a vigil to commemorate¹ exactly one month since a massive earthquake struck the south of the country.

智利总统塞巴斯蒂安·皮涅拉参加了为纪念一个月前在地震中不幸丧生的人而举行的守夜仪式。

President Pinera has pledged to rebuild damaged areas

Mr Pinera, speaking in the city of Concepcion, repeated his vow² to rebuild areas devastated³（压倒，破坏） by the earthquake.

The 8.8 magnitude（震级，大小） quake and the tsunami⁴ it triggered killed nearly 500 people, with thousands more made homeless.

Total damage has been estimated at $30bn (£20bn) with more than 1.5m homes across the country damaged.

Speaking at the vigil（守夜，监视） in Concepcion's cathedral（大教堂） , Mr Pinera repeated his pledge to rebuild areas hit by the quake.

"We have a debt, a task to rebuild our country," he said.

"As president I will lead that reconstruction⁵ process, I'll be the bricklayer（砖匠） , the worker, the carpenter（木匠） , the engineer and also the architect（建筑师） , representing all Chileans and as we have already said, we will rebuild on stone and not on sand."

Mr Pinera said he also planned to extend the presence of the military in some areas to help speed up the rebuilding process.

'Dry your tears'

Later, he addressed a mass in the square in front of the cathedral, attended by thousands.

He called on people to dry their tears and to start working "in the great task of rebuilding Chile".

Concepcion, the second largest city in Chile, was severely⁶ damaged by the quake and hundreds of its residents are still living in tents in parks and gardens.

Tens of thousands who lost their homes in the regions of Bio Bio and Maule and are still waiting for temporary housing.

Mr Pinera took office（就职） less than two weeks after the disaster.