By Terry Wade and Fabian Cambero
CONCEPCION, Chile (Reuters) - Some survivors were still waiting for government aid on Saturday in south-central Chile, a week after one of the strongest earthquakes on record killed hundreds and repeated aftershocks rattled nerves.
Homeless and desperate, they voiced anger and frustration at outgoing President Michelle Bachelet's handling of the disaster, saying her administration was too slow to mobilise after the 8.8-magnitude quake struck early on February 27.
"There has been an earthquake of disorganization on the part of the national and local governments," said Fernando Valenzuela, 44, who is living with his wife in a tent city of 42 in the small town of Dichato, near the quake epicentre.
"This is a case of bad governmental management and organisation ... 99 percent of the help we have got has been from the Chilean people, and only 1 percent from the government," he added as others cooked meals over open fires.
The area around Dichato was devastated by tsunamis triggered by the quake, which washed large ships as far as 1.2 miles (2 km) inland. Cargo planes have landed around 19 miles (30 km) away with water, food and bedding, but aid had yet to reach some tent cities.
Many outraged survivors say they were not warned of the tsunamis, which followed hours after the quake, and the Navy acknowledged its alert system broke down and fired the head of its catastrophe warning unit.
It was one of a series of blunders. The government is revising the death toll after authorities mistakenly tallied scores of missing people who later turned up alive.
Officials said on Friday they had now identified 452 victims. They did not give a number for unidentified bodies or missing people and have backed off a previous figure of more than 800 deaths.
Centre-right President-elect Sebastian Pinera, who will be sworn-in on March 11 in a toned-down ceremony has pledged to overhaul Chile's National Emergency Office, known as Onemi.
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Graphic http://link.reuters.com/dec43j
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Some criticized Bachelet for not putting troops on the streets immediately after the quake in Chile, which is considered Latin America's most developed country for its stable economy and social services.
Ivan Gonzalez Ruiz, owner of a bakery that was looted in the port city of Talcahuano, said Bachelet waited too long to restore order.
Some feel socialist Bachelet was reluctant to end her presidency with the military patrolling because it would be reminiscent of images of late dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet's brutal 1973-90 dictatorship.
"Michelle Bachelet did not want to finish her term with the army on the streets," said Gonzalez Ruiz, who lives on a hill above Dichato. "But it was absolutely necessary, they needed to stop the looting and she waited too long."
Bachelet was due to visit the quake-hit zone again later on Saturday, as was visiting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
In ravaged Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city, some people ran out of their houses or jumped out of the vehicles where they had been sleeping since the quake as seven intense aftershocks shook the area on Friday.
The strongest of those was 6.6 in magnitude.
The quake and the giant waves destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, wrecked bridges and roads and cracked modern buildings in the capital, Santiago.
In the country's famous grape-growing regions, wine barrels cracked and spilt.
Chile's biggest copper mines were mostly spared but its top two oil refineries were hit hard and are still offline, forcing the country to boost fuel imports. Other key industries such as pulp, fishing and fruit also took a hit.
(Additional reporting by Ignacio Badal; Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Doina Chiacu)
