Wow. Just wow.

[Yanko Markovic]

So yesterday I woke up at three o' clock in the morning to a, 8,5 Richter scale earthquake that shook the whole country. Maybe you heard it in the news. They say it was felt even in some parts of Brazil. I don't know, I just got electricity and internet today. Fortunately, since every construction and building in Chile is made to resist this kind of earthquake (from what I heard, this is the fifth greatest earthquake registered, and also we've had THE greatest one) there was no really serious destruction, though several bridges and highways are destroyed, and the dead people count is rising to 800...

Fortunately, nothing really happened in my neighborhood and the surrounding blocks, maybe a fallen traffic sign or two, and some windows broken, but nothing really serious. Still, yesterday I had to clean a great mess of fallen books and wall dust. Anyway, the news say the great "epicenter" of the earthquake was in the South, and there IS some serious destruction, and now we're still feeling the - I don't know how you call them - "replicas" of the earthquake, and there is going on a lot of plundering and robbery, since many homes were completely destroyed.

Anyway, just wanted to tell you about this. I heard some news on Obama talking about the reflection of the earthquake going to Hawaii or something like that. I didn't see them, I was told by my brother. Any of you have any info?

[FingolfinFinwe]

Glad to hear you're ok.  Pretty amazing really that there hasn't been much more destruction and casualties than has been reported so far.  I mean.. compare this much stronger quake to the one that happened in Haiti.  Ridiculous. 

All the Tsunami warnings for Hawaii and Japan turned out to be mostly false alarms thankfully.

[Yanko Markovic]

Thanks, and thank God that they were false alarms. The reason there was so little destruction is because we're a VERY seismic country, and buildings are designed to resist 9,5 Richter quakes (since the one that happened in Valdivia in 1960), unlike poor Haiti (that one was 5 degree, and everything gone ) Anyway, even as I write this I'm feeling a little shaking. Hope they don't last long.

[MR. Lurtzy]

Hawaii got a 5 foot wave.

[Jerba]

We're all thankful that you are alright and that you haven't suffered any serious physical or material losses. Indeed a blessing. Chile is a more economically advanced nation and thankfully will have suffered less damage than Haiti.

Stay safe through the 'replicas' (aftershocks) and looting.

[Yanko Markovic]

Thanks a lot. The looting and pillaging are happering mainly in the south and the poorer areas of the city, where the damage was greater and many people lost their homes. That's why we went on the morning to a charity organization and gave away mostly food and some first aid supplies. The aftershocks (that was the word!) seem to have ceased today thankfully.

[TelTura]

I was in Tonga during the quakes in Samoa, and we in the south got hit with mini-tidal waves, and the northern islands were totally taken out...no joke, the most dangerous quakes aren't the biggest ones, but the ones that hit those least prepared.  Niuatoputapu looked like a bomb had hit it by the time it was all said and done.

[Yanko Markovic]

the most dangerous quakes aren't the biggest ones, but the ones that hit those least prepared.

Very true.

[Gil-Estel]

Good to hear you are allright! Must be a freightening experience....

[ghhhk]

Happy that you are OK down there.  I lived in Chile 20 years ago and still keep in contact with friends.  Fortunately all seem to be OK but some of the older buildings in some of the little towns where I lived have been destroyed.  Viva Chile!