ONEMI

National Office of Emergency of the Interior Ministry
Oficina Nacional de Emergencia del Ministerio del Interior
Agency overview
Formed1974
TypeEmergency management
JurisdictionGovernment of Chile
HeadquartersBeauchef 1671
Santiago
Annual budgetUS$21,030,236
CLP$16,660,147,000[1]
Ministers responsible
  • Ricardo Toro Tassara, Director
  • Cristóbal Mena, Assistant Director
Parent agencyMinistry of the Interior and Public Security
WebsiteOfficial website (in Spanish)

ONEMI or National Office of Emergency of the Interior Ministry (Spanish: Oficina Nacional de Emergencia del Ministerio del Interior) was a Chilean government agency dedicated to the prevention, organization, coordination and information relative to natural disasters. After the 1960 Valdivia earthquake a committee was formed to solve problems caused by the earthquake. However, this committee was not dissolved afterwards and in 1974, it acquired by law independent status as governmental office.

Other state funded agencies and services that cooperate with ONEMI are CONAF in terms related to forests and wildlife and OVDAS in monitoring volcanoes.

On 1 January 2023, it legally ceased to exist and was replaced by the current National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response (Senapred), as specified in Law No. 21,364.[2][3]

2010 Chile earthquake and trial

ONEMI has faced severe criticism after the 2010 Chile earthquake, the largest earthquake in Chile since the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. Criticism include the lack of coordination with other authorities and the SHOA (Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy). ONEMI, SHOA and the government have been accused of the initial neglect of the tsunami warning sent by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Currently several of the members from the SHOA and ONEMI are facing trial in the Chilean justice.[4][5][6][citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ Direccion de Presupuestos de Chile, Ministry of Finance (19 December 2019). Ley de presupuestos 2020 (PDF) (Report). Chile. p. 100. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  2. ^ Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional. "Ley 21.364 - establece el Sistema Nacional de Prevención y Respuesta ante Desastres, sustituye la Oficina Nacional de Emergencia por el Servicio Nacional de Prevención y Respuesta ante Desastres, y adecúa normas que indica". www.bcn.cl/leychile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  3. ^ Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad Pública. "A Partir De Hoy Onemi Pasa A Ser El Servicio Nacional De Prevención Y Respuesta Ante Desastres (Senapred)". gob.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  4. ^ Newspaper La Nación - Chile Earthquake 2010 Death Toll, last report (in spanish)
  5. ^ Newspaper La Nación - Former president Bachelet answers to criticism (in spanish)
  6. ^ Chile earthquake offers tough lessons for U.S. coast

33°28′7″S 70°39′50″W / 33.46861°S 70.66389°W / -33.46861; -70.66389


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