Life slowly returns to normal in Chile

Life is gradually returning to normal in northern Chile, with power restored to most homes that lost electricity during a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake.

Tuesday's earthquake killed six people and forced thousands to evacuate, especially in coastal areas vulnerable to flooding and tsunamis.

A seventh fatality was attributed to the earthquake on Friday when a six-day-old baby of a family made homeless in the disaster died from cardiac arrest.

Officials from regional utilities said power and other basic services were well on the way to being fully restored across the worst-hit areas. Water was also running again in many areas that had seen disruptions.

General Miguel Alfonso, head of the disaster zone that is centred on the coastal city of Iquique, said he expected regular food and energy distribution would be possible within about three weeks.

A series of smaller but still powerful quakes have shaken the country since Tuesday - including a 7.6-magnitude tremor on Wednesday that forced thousands to flee their homes again.

Many families still slept outside from Thursday into Friday, and were likely to continue to do so, as aftershocks continue to rattle the country.

The hardest-hit victims from Tuesday's quake were inhabitants of desert towns and villages who reside in the highland plateaus where water sometimes is already scarce.

The fragile construction of dwellings in these areas puts residents at greater risk from building collapse during a quake, officials said.

President Michelle Bachelet's new government, meanwhile, issued a warning to those seeking to profit from the misfortune, vowing aggressive prosecution against speculators.

Bachelet has deployed troops to deter looting.

Residents of Iquique, a city of some 180,000 people, had complained of price gouging as they tried to buy water and staple food products.

The earthquake hit Chile weeks after Bachelet began her second term in office.

The political stakes were regarded as particularly high because of missteps during her first administration's response to an 8.8-magnitude quake in 2010.

That disaster left more than 500 people dead, and resulted in some $30 million in damages.