Sebastian Pinera has been sworn in as Chile's new president, less than two weeks after the country was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Mr Pinera not only faces the challenge of reconstruction, but takes over from a highly-popular outgoing leader.

Michelle Bachelet left office with a record 84% popularity rating despite criticism of her government's slow reaction to last month's disaster.

Shortly before the inauguration, a 7.2-magnitude aftershock hit central Chile.

The tremor was centred in O'Higgins Region, about 140km (90 miles) south of the coastal city of Valparaiso, where the inauguration ceremony is taking place.

A BBC correspondent in the capital, Santiago, said buildings shook and people rushed out onto the streets.

Earlier, Chile's disaster management chief resigned over the response to last month's 8.8-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami, which left close to 500 people dead.

Last week Ms Bachelet dismissed the head of the navy's oceanography service for failing to provide a clear warning of the tsunami.

Thousands homeless

The inauguration ceremony in the port city of Valparaiso was scheduled be an austere affair. The planned dinner was cancelled and the whole event scaled back out of respect for victims of the quake.

Ms Bachelet, Chile's first woman president, was constitutionally barred from seeking re-election.

She handed the red, white and blue presidential sash to Mr Pinera, whose election win ended 20 years of centre-left rule in Chile.

Seldom can an incoming president have faced such a massive and immediate challenge, says the BBC's Gideon Long in Santiago.

Thousands of people have been made homeless by the quake, and around half a million homes destroyed.

"We won't be the government of the earthquake, we'll be the government of reconstruction," the 60-year-old billionaire said recently.

Last month, the conservative leader named his cabinet, leaving out any figures linked with the former military ruler, Augusto Pinochet.

In his election campaign, Mr Pinera said he would focus on boosting economic growth and producing jobs while continuing with the outgoing president's social policies.

Mr Pinera is one of the country's richest men. He made his fortune introducing credit cards to Chile, then went on to buy a television channel, a stake in Chile's most successful football club, and put millions of dollars into other investments.

Source BBC