COBQUECURA, Chile - One year after a devastating earthquake struck, Chile is holding a series of commemorative activities starting from Cobquecura at the epicenter of the 8.8-magnitude temblor and tsunami that wreaked death and destruction in the South American country.

Residents gather at the Maule River bank in commemoration of the victims of the February 2010 earthquake and the ensuing tsunamis at Constitucion town, some 364 km (226 miles) south of Santiago February 27, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

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Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and hundreds of local people attended a candle-lit prayer service in Cobquecura, observing a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the disaster.

"From the ruins, the pain and damage, a valiant and generous nation arises," Pinera said at the service, recalling a whole year of effort that the two million quake/tsunami-affected people devoted into post-quake reconstruction.

He said the reconstruction has been advancing in high gear, though there was still a long way to go.

On February 27, 2010, an earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale hit the central-southern part of Chile. The quake, one of the strongest ever recorded, and subsequent tsunami killed over 500 people and caused 30 billion U.S. dollars in economic losses.