Earthquake 8.8/6.6

If you ever travel to Chile for an extended period of time, you have to come with the expectation that you will feel a tremor. They happen all the time and are usually mild. But this country tops the charts when it comes to serious earthquakes, and so Chile is locked in a constant waiting game for the next big one to hit…

In Valparaiso, Chile at approximately 3:45 Saturday morning, February 27th, I sat up in bed and froze, unable to move once I realized what was happening. It started with a low rumble and grew by the second. The plaster in the hostel walls began to crack, crumble and fall into piles on the pillow and floor. The lamp above was swinging, dishes fell out of their cupboards, windows shattered, and the chaos was punctuated with the sound of the heavy TV and computer toppling to the floor down the hall. The second it stopped, those of us in the hostel rushed out of our rooms to check on each other and survey the damage, and what a mess it was. According to reports, the earthquake felt in Valparaiso was a 6.6 and lasted about 2-3 minutes.

There were 5 of us in the hostel (one who actually managed to sleep through the whole thing) but 5 others had gone out earlier that night to a club and had not yet returned. We stepped out of the hostel to watch and wait for their return. The sight in the streets was something else: complete darkness in the thick, dusty air. Dogs barking, car alarms sounding, and people shouting, laughing, and generally being rowdy. The adrenaline felt by all obviously had not worn off.

Our friends finally emerged and spilled their story of walking out of night club 2012: El Fin del Mundo Para Carrete (which translates to “2012: The End of the World Party”) right at the start of the earthquake…it doesn’t get much more ironic than that! It took about an hour for all of us to feel calm enough to go back to sleep. When I finally crawled back into bed, it was hard to ignore the aftershocks felt just about every 5 minutes. I think I will forever associate the sound of a creaking overhead lamp with earthquakes.

The next morning felt like a big reality check. I don’t think any of us could have imagined the full extent of what really happened in Chile early that morning. Most areas of Valparaíso had electricity and water returned to their homes but almost nothing was open. Still, as far as we could tell, the earthquake had not caused a significant amount of damage and the world was preparing to move on. We managed to find a restaurant and that’s when we realized the seriousness of the event and how lucky we were.


There on the big screen TV was the familiar city of Concepción in complete shambles. There at the epicenter, the quake had reached a magnitude of 8.8 and the damage is tragic. Collapsed apartments, bridges, highways and overpasses; fires, looting, complete chaos. I couldn’t imagine what those people were going through. A tsunami hit the region as well and, as if adding insult to injury, it has created a different tragedy all together (special thanks to the Chilean Navy which decided not to issue a warning for the sake of “preventing panic”- I can’t believe they could have been so negligent!).

I started thinking of all the friends I had made who live very close to the catastrophic epicenter: some of the teachers at Liceo Mariano Latorre commuted from Concepción – were they ok? And what about Curanilahue, only 1 ½ hours from Concepción – how is Gladys, my host mother? Is her home still standing? And my students – are their families ok as well and do they still have their homes? What about the school – is it still standing?

I must have traveled back and forth between Curanilahue and Concepción at least 2 dozen times. It’s eerie seeing images of this area streaming through the news. I hardly recognize the towns and coastlines. Tremors are still being felt throughout Chile, some reaching as high as 6.9 in magnitude. The mood in Santiago is somber and unusually quiet. The Ministry of Education has canceled its English Opens Doors Program for any prospective volunteers who had not made it to Chile prior to the quake. Concepción is currently under martial law, Liceo Mariano Latorre is no longer standing, and I’m finally starting to hear news of the status in Curanilahue from former students.

When put all together, this still seems surreal to me. I’d like to head back to the Bío Bío Region to check on friends and see what has changed, but that isn’t possible. I’m lucky things weren’t worse in Valparaíso. My thoughts are with all those I met and care for in Concepción and Curanilahue.

Fuerza Chile!