Audio clip
Jorge Araya
Jorge Araya woke up Saturday morning to find a computer message from his daughter in Chile, telling him she was fine after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck the South American country.
“She just said, ‘There’s been a very large earthquake, but we are OK,’” said the Dalton, Ga., resident. “I tried calling her at that time, but I couldn’t get through.”
About 3:30 a.m. Chilean time Saturday, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded struck near Concepción, Chile’s second-largest city, about 200 miles south of Santiago, the capital.
EARTHQUAKE HISTORY
* Since 1973, there have been 13 quakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater in Chile.
* In May 1960, there was a magnitude 9.5 earthquake — the largest earthquake worldwide in recorded history.
* An estimated 1,600 lives were lost in the 1960 earthquake and tsunami in Chile, and another 200 lives in Japan, Hawaii and the Philippines.
* In November 1922, there was a magnitude 8.5 earthquake in central Chile that killed several hundred people and caused severe property damage.
* The 1922 quake generated a 9-meter tsunami that inundated the Chilean coast near the town of Coquimbo. The tsunami also crossed the Pacific, washing away boats in Hilo, Hawaii.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Program
FOR MORE INFORMATION
* The U.S State Department has set up a number for Americans to call if they are looking for information about relatives and friends: 1-888-407-4747.
GET INVOLVED
* To find out how you can help, contact David Ramirez, Church of God World Missions field director for South America, at (423) 478-7014, (909) 945-7167 or send an e-mail to davidramirezs@mac.com.
* To donate, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY, text the word “chile” to 52000 to make a one-time $10 donation billed to your cell phone account, or go to www.salvationarmy...>
* To make a donation to the Global Southern Baptist relief and development organization, visit www.gobgr.org.>
* Donate to the American Red Cross by calling 1-800-HELP-NOW or by visiting www.redcross.org. Donate also may be send to the local Red Cross chapter office at 801 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37403.
The death toll has risen to more than 700 people and more than 500,000 homes are estimated to be destroyed, The Associated Press reports.
Since the earthquake, more than 121 aftershocks of a 5 magnitude or greater have been felt, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Program.
David Ramirez, field director for South America with the Cleveland, Tenn.-based Church of God World Missions, said organization officials are assessing the damage of 300 churches and the whereabouts of 25,000 members they have in Chile.
“Right now in Santiago, we have reports that most of our pastors and families are doing OK,” said Mr. Ramirez, a native of Chile. “But there’s a lot of damage in some churches and homes, especially the first Church of God built in Chile in the early ’60s, which is totally destroyed.”
Chattanooga resident Annette Segura said an aunt who lives in Santiago was able to call her sister shortly after the earthquake, but she didn’t get through to her until about 2 p.m. EST Saturday, about 4 p.m. Chilean time.
“The uncertainty of not knowing if my family and friends were fine (was the worst part),” said the 30-year-old, who left Chile in 2003.
But the Internet was key to communicating with their loved ones, Mr. Araya and Mrs. Segura said. But what they found out wasn’t pleasant.
“They say the situation is critical in some places because people are getting desperate,” she said. “Many people in Concepción don’t have any water, food or electricity.”
With a long history of temblors in their country, Chilean people are taught since childhood how to evacuate in case of an earthquake. But Mr. Araya said the magnitude of the minute-and-a-half quake took many by surprise.
“They say it was the longest 90 seconds of their lives; that it seemed like it was the end of the world,” he said.
At the moment, there isn’t a need for volunteers for the American Red Cross, said Claudia Moore, spokeswoman for the Greater Chattanooga Area American Red Cross, but there’s always a need for monetary donations to help with relief efforts.
Salvation Army spokeswoman Kimberly George said a mobile kitchen was donated to Chile by the U.S. Southern Territory, a division of the Salvation Army that includes Chattanooga. The kitchen was supposed to be dedicated Thursday, but it is being used to serve those in need.
She said a lot of Salvation Army properties were damaged in Chile, but organization officials still are assessing the loss. The Salvation Army has worked in Chile sine 1909.
Mr. Ramirez said the Church of God World Mission sent $10,000 to help with the most urgent needs until they can determine how to proceed.
“We have faith that Chile is going to get through this,” he said, “(and) we’re requesting all the international help possible to help us with this.”
Perla Trevizo joined the Chattanooga Times Free Press in 2007 and covers immigration/diversity issues and higher education. She holds a master’s degree in newswire journalism from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas. She was selected as an International Reporting Fellow by the International Center for Journalists and in 2009 received an honorable mention for her story “Families Broken Apart” from the Tennessee ...
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