CHILE PROCEEDING CALMLY AFTER EARTHQUAKE

As published in The News-Sun on Sunday, February 28, 2010. (www.kpcnews.com)

By CATHERINE REYES-HOUSHOLDER

SANTIAGO DE CHILE — I woke up at 3:35 a.m. Saturday because the bed beneath me was violently shifting over my room. It was the start of the worst earthquake in Chile since 1985, 8.8 on the Richter scale.

My husband, Diego, and I immediately jumped underneath the doorway between our bathroom and bedroom. Holding each other’s arms, we managed to stay standing the entire time.

We heard some crashing of glass which we later found out was our living room lamp and a wine bottle that had been stored up high.

One particularity of earthquakes compared to other natural disasters is that there is not much you can do during the earthquake. You just run to the nearest doorway, and hope the building doesn´t collapse.

Diego, an engineer, wasn´t worried that our apartment building would fall, even though we live on the ninth floor. Chile has a history of violent earthquakes and Chilean engineers design buildings with that in mind.

We cleaned up the apartment a bit and then we walked downstairs to see what our neighbors were doing. About 20 of them were outside, talking on cell phones and listening to Radio Cooperativa.

Diego, an electrical supervisor of the copper mine Anglo-American, was worried about the power at his work. Because two of his coworkers were on vacation (January through March are summer in Chile), he was responsible for all electrical failures in the mine.

So we hopped into his company truck in the darkness of 5 a.m. and whizzed to the mine, northeast of the capital city. As we swirled along the curvy roads leading through the mountains, we saw rocks — some the size of refrigerators — that had fallen during the quake. We also saw a car that had been turned over, but fortunately had no victims.

I have spent the last 13 hours just outside the Anglo-American copper mine, in the electrical headquarters, where Diego has been leading his coworkers on the great get-the-electricity-running-again mission. The weather is eerily peaceful and calm — 80s, sunny with cool breezes. The electrical headquarters of the mine — about an hour away from Santiago — is a haven from the chaos of the damaged city.

We have been feeling more trembling — it is gentle but still makes us nervous. The “réplicas,” which Chileans call aftershocks, do not seem to be causing more damage in Santiago.

I have been listening to Radio Cooperativa in Diego´s company´s truck. I give accolades to this radio station which has managed to keep a serious but positive tone. From what I can tell, the radio has been especially useful because while much of the country is without electricity, most people can listen to a battery-powered or car-powered radio. The station transmits important information about the disaster — for example warning Chileans on vacation at the beach to not travel immediately back to their homes because of the damage.

The Minister of Education in Chile has postponed the start of classes around the nation by one week. Instead of starting on Monday, March 1, classes should start on March 8.

Managing the natural disaster will be President Michelle Bachelet´s last major task before she is replaced on March 11 by center-right President-elect Sebastián Piñera.

Although Chile and Haiti are from the same region of Latin America, they are worlds apart in terms of political and economic strength. Chile is one of the most politically stable and economically strong countries in the region while Haiti is one of the weakest on both counts. Haiti was a basket-case after its earthquake. According to news reports, Haitian leaders were nowhere to be seen during the days following the disaster, while Chile has appeared to proceed calmly but strategically.

Bachelet and her ministers were instantly on top of the situation, giving short interviews to the media and organizing a plan of action. Although many Chilean buildings did collapse, modern Chilean buildings are generally designed to withstand earthquakes.

The number of deaths is not comparable, chiefly because Chile´s infrastructure is far superior to Haiti´s.

Chile’s last major earthquake was on March 3, 1985 (one day before I was born).