"In the countryside, we have received nothing," said Juana Rodriguez, who lives in Puerta Verde, a hamlet of 36 families located eight kilometers (five miles) from Constitucion.

"We need water, diapers, milk" for babies, she added.

Another resident, Cecilia Sanchez, said the community was short on all supplies including medicine for children suffering from fever and other ailments. "We don't even have aspirin," she said.

Laura Albornoz, a government official heading up relief efforts, said authorities were working as quickly as possible to deliver aid to areas hit by Saturday's massive 8.8-magnitude temblor that killed hundreds and affected two million.

"We had 7,000 rations arrive yesterday, and 14,000 today. By tomorrow I hope it will be 20,000 per day," she said, while urging the Puerta Verde residents to put their complaints in writing.

Amid concerns about looting and violence, authorities were bringing supplies to two shelters in the area and then going through neighborhoods to see where aid is needed, said Fabian Perez, a municipal worker heading up aid deliveries.

He said another measure to guard against problems was requiring residents to sign up at local distribution centers being set up at schools.

In some areas in central Chile, soldiers, volunteers and civilian officials began organizing an orderly flow of food to the hungry, easing pressures that sparked widespread looting and forced the government to impose curfews.

Soup kitchens and truckloads of food and water began appearing Tuesday on the streets of hard-hit Concepcion, the country's second largest city with 600,000 people.

"The distribution network is operational and the bulk of the aid is beginning to arrive," said Carmen Fernandez, head of the national emergency office.

Authorities used the quiet hours to prepare for more extensive handouts when the curfew lifted on Wednesday in Concepcion, 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Santiago.

Curfews were in place in six other towns: Talca, Cauquenes, Constitucion, Curico, Molina and Sagrada Familia.

A tally of the almost 800 dead showed that the coastal communities were the most severely affected, battered first by the quake and then struck from the sea by giant waves.

In the town of Constitucion, where as many as a third of the 60,000 people are said to be without homes, army helicopters brought in 2.5 tonnes of aid on Tuesday including canned tuna, tea bags, and milk.

The government of President Michelle Bachelet, criticized for moving too slowly to confront the disaster, has poured 14,000 troops into quake-struck regions to stop looting and help organize relief efforts.

Around Concepcion, an estimated 13,000 residents received humanitarian aid packages that included milk, fish, noodles, sugar and tomato sauce. Some groceries reopened under military surveillance.

"This is very good what was coming in, it would have been nice to add salt," one Concepcion resident said.

Not everyone was satisfied.

"They went by my home very fast near and I did not get anything," complained Ramona Pineda.

Residents formed long queues for provisions at reopening supermarkets, where supplies were scarce.

"You can buy whatever you can carry in your arms," the operator of the Super 10 market said. "Don't run. Come in 15 people at a time."

Some outlying communities were still isolated and the military said the full extent of the death and destruction was only gradually being revealed as troops penetrated remote areas.

Broken roads and bridges, disrupted rail links, and damaged port facilities have compounded the difficulties in delivering relief to the hungry and homeless.

Near Constitucion, a field hospital was being installed, drawing in people seeking clean water.

The army brought in a tanker truck with treated water, but urged residents to boil the water as an extra precaution.

But it was not enough for some. "We have three families, a total of 20 to 25 people, and just two liters of water per person for washing. We also need water for cooking," said 18-year-old student Carla Gutierrez.

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