Quake's Aftershocks Jolt Chile as New President Is Sworn In

Aftershocks from last month's earthquake shook Chile today just before the swearing in of new president Sebastian Piñera.

Piñera went ahead with his inauguration ceremony, then announced on television that troops and supplies would be sent immediately to the quake zone along the central coast.

Piñera said he would fly to the most heavily damaged areas later today, The New York Times reported. Early reports indicated damage was limited. But in Santiago, about 90 miles from the earthquake's epicenter, windows rattled and buildings shuddered.

At the inauguration in Valparaiso, dignitaries made nervous jokes as the ceiling of the National Congress Building trembled when the aftershocks hit, the Times said, citing local news reports. Piñera kept shaking hands and took his oath of office, but the building was evacuated after the inauguration.

On his first day in office, the president said the government would "not hesitate one instant, nor wait one second to act."

"But at the same time," he said, "we call on everyone to remain calm."

The sense of urgency was apparently a reaction to complaints directed at Piñera's predecessor, Michelle Bachelet, who was criticized in some quarters for a slow response to the Feb. 27 earthquake.