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Thousands more troops were deployed across quake-hit Chile Tuesday as residents took up arms to stop a wave of mass looting in the nation's second city, slapped with an 18-hour curfew.

President Michelle Bachelet doubled the number of troops patrolling the worst hit areas to 14,000, as people in ravaged Concepcion were barred from leaving their homes from 6:00 pm to midday.

"Military personnel will be present in the streets of Concepcion until midday to maintain public order, and they will not waver in carrying out their duties," warned General Guillermo Ramirez.

A similar curfew was also imposed on three other towns badly damaged by Saturday's 8.8-magnitude quake, which was so strong it triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami.

The curfew, unprecedented since the end of the 17-year dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, is likely to trigger concern in the South American country. Related article: Chile extends curfew to three towns

But Bachelet defended her government's handling of the crisis, amid anger at the slow arrival of aid to the worst hit areas.

"We understand your urgent suffering, but we also know that these are criminal acts that will not be tolerated," Bachelet said, addressing mounting frustration that troops were standing guard over stores laden with supplies.

Officially, the quake killed more than 700 people, but the death toll looks set to rise sharply as relief teams reach more isolated areas.

In Concepcion -- some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Santiago -- residents roamed the streets looking for food and water.

Armed self-defense groups had set up fires overnight on darkened, barricaded streets, with thousands said to be arming themselves, in their bid to keep looters away from their homes. Related article: Villagers recall deadly tsunami

Bachelet said it was not acceptable that "people have to organize mechanisms for their self-defense, just to hold onto the few possessions that they still have after the earthquake."

Several stores in the country's second city were set alight by angry crowds on Monday when troops barred them from ransacking the shelves, and more than 160 people have already been arrested.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Santiago Tuesday carrying communications equipment asked for by the Chilean government, after it dropped its initial reluctance and appealed for international aid. Related article: 'God help us:' rescue worker at collapsed Chile building

"One of their biggest problems has been communications," Clinton, who was also meeting Bachelet's successor in two weeks time, Sebastian Pinera, told reporters.

The capital, mostly built to strict codes in a country used to regular earthquakes as it sits on the deadly Pacific ring of fire, escaped the worst of the damage.

But as journalists and aid workers slowly trekked across damaged roads, the extent of the quake -- one of the largest ever recorded in history -- is gradually coming to light. Two million people, or one eighth of the population, are said to have been affected.

The old heart of Talca crumbled in minutes. In street after street, homes built of mud-and-straw "adobe," some a century old, collapsed to the ground. Up to 95 people were reported to have died there. Related article: Aid pledged to quake-hit Chile

"We need troops, it's chaos here, people are too scared to go out," said Mayor Carolina Van Ristenberger.

There is little to no electricity, water supplies are slowly returning for the 200,000 residents, and most shops remain closed.

Some coastal areas, swamped by the massive tsunami, remained cut off Tuesday.

"This part was full of houses. There were more than 100," said Silvia Aparicio, a community leader, pointing to the beachfront in Pelluhue, turned into a desolate, sandy wasteland.

"And that's nothing compared to what happened in the Marisquero," she added, referring to a nearby district.

Four days after the quake, Pelluhue, some 300 kilometres (185 miles) from Santiago, remains a scene of desolation and sorrow. So far, rescue workers have counted 57 dead in Pelluhue and another 28 in nearby Curenipe, both close to the quake's epicenter.

State television reported that more than 300 bodies had been found in the fishing village of Constitucion.

The unrest and looting upset radio reporters. "I cannot believe this is happening in our country. What will the world say? This vandalism, delinquency, this is the worst of us," one said on national radio.

AFP