Sorry to hear this. I think the center was off shore, but still!
It is strange because I have been researching that country since last Sunday when I saw an episode on The Race on television. I found out it is the most progressive country in South America. It may have woman as president. The buildings were for the most part not damaged because they were built to withstand earthquakes. It has a lush tundra ,especially in the southern part of Chile, very much like the UK. It doesn't have a lot of poverty that is usually found in Central and South America. It is very cheap to live there. (I've got me bags packed. 
)
I just got back from Santiago, Chile yesterday (I'm in NJ at the moment, back in the UK tomorrow) - you're right about the fact that Chile has less poverty than other South American countries (I also visited Peru and Bolivia - I was in Peru when the earthquake occurred) and that it has 'lush tundra' (Santiago looks more like Southern California than South America, with all the palm tree around), but I'm not sure I agree on it being cheap to live there... it's a very expensive country compared to other parts of the continent - a lot of things cost the same as or more than they do in the US ( e.g. $2 for a bottle of Coke, $7 for a small beer, $10-$20 for a restaurant meal, $5 for a McDonalds meal... compared to $1 for a coke, $3 for a beer and $5-$10 for a restaurant meal in Bolivia) ... I survived on $10-20 per day in Peru and Bolivia, but my first day in Chile I spent $80!
In terms of earthquake damage, Santiago didn't look too bad at all - I didn't really see anything much to indicate earthquake damage in the city. The airport is not fully functional yet though, but I didn't notice any real devastation there. They have a few things under construction still and the arrivals area is a marquee int he car park, but that's about it.
