Earthquake, 2010

I was sound asleep when the earthquake hit. Almost immediately, I could tell this was going to be a big one. In more than twenty years here in Santiago, I have experienced a lot of earthquakes, but, as I was soon to find out, this would be the worst. My first thought was, “I need to get the door open.” Who wants to be trapped in a house which might fall on top of you at any moment?

I got out of bed as quickly as I could. I grabbed for my glasses, for my shoes. I can not honestly say if I found them or not, because I was still half asleep and I was in a hurry to get out of the bedroom to get the door open. I flipped the bedroom light on. Almost immediately, the lights went off. This was my second indication that this was a big earthquake. It was already taking down the electrical lines.

As I headed out the bedroom door, the earthquake grew in intensity. With every step, it became more violent. I had to make it into the office to get the keys to the house and then back to the front door. Just making it across the floor was difficult. It felt like I was walking on water, but in the middle of a storm. The floor moved in waves, but violently so. The floor buckled up and down. It was pitch black. I could not see anything. All around me, I could hear things crashing to the floor. Later, I would see the floor covered with glass and everything else that had fallen.

I finally got the door open. I waited there for the quake to end. The conventional wisdom is that you do not go outside, unless you absolutely have to. It can be as dangerous outside as in. Falling objects could hit you. Electrical lines could zap you. The Chileans say that you could even get swallowed up by the earth. I don’t know if that is true, but who wants to find out?

When the earthquake was over, I just stood there in the doorway for a minute, thinking, “That was something else.” The quake was like going a round in a boxing match. It was an intense fight for a couple of minutes, but suddenly it was over. Who was the winner? I was a champ, having made it through that. I was surprised by how calm I was. I never feared for my life. I was surprised though that my house did not fall on top of me. Later, when I learned how powerful it was, I was even more surprised.

The Chileans always congregate in the street after an earthquake. They do this to see if everyone is Ok, and also because they want to wait out the aftershocks. I was so sleepy though that I returned to bed. I later found out that all my neighbors thought I was dead. I’m sorry to disappoint them.

My electricity was off for several days after that. Fortunately, I had water. I also had gas, because here in Chile you buy the natural gas in 15 kilo or 45 kilo tanks. So the last few days I had just been waiting for the electricity to come back on.

The infrastructure here in Chile has taken some hits. In the more devastated areas to the south of Santiago, communities have been wiped out. We called several members of our church, but we did not get a response from almost all of them. We did talk to one lady. Her family was unhurt. She said that bridges were out and roads were torn up. Her house was completely destroyed. Her family had no water, no electricity, and no food. To make matters even worse, looters came and took everything that they had. The neighbors there banded together for protection.

Evidently, the looting has been making the headlines all over the world. My Chilean friends are embarrassed by this. Most Chileans are not like that. I agree. Right now, a lot of people in the devastated areas are desperate for food and water. I understand that water is getting to them. It is a logistical nightmare. The Chilean government has responded well, even though some mistakes have been made.

I thank God that I survived this experience unscathed.