Many of those who spoke acknowledged that the country's myriad needs remained unaddressed while the new Parliament idled.
Mr. Ban emphasized that their basic needs remained unmet and said that he expected the relief effort to last several months.
Some of the earliest estimates put savings at an average 10% overall, rising to 15% among people whose needs remained stable.
In campaigning here Wednesday, Mr. Kerry made another sharp critique of Mr. Bush's handling of the war on terrorism, asserting that major domestic security needs remained inadequately financed under his watch.
Ms. Bachelet said she had made the trip because she wanted to see first hand what kind of progress had been made in delivering assistance to the remote fishing communities and to determine what needs remained.
Although financing needs remained sizable, particularly in the power and water sectors for utilities like Saudi Electric, issuers that could afford to wait had generally held back from tapping capital and bank markets, hoping that pricing conditions would improve, the S.&P.
