Flatland Reflections on a Chilean Quake

 Curico on March 3rd

In Iowa the ground will grow about anything. It’s the solid foundation of all life, a constant in a complex equation. So naturally when my apartment building here in Santiago began to shake back and forth last Saturday (Feb 28) screaming of steel and concrete grinding together the world that I had once knew -that concept of the earth being solid and firm- it all ended in the doorframe of my apartment.

It took me over five years to finally get a taste of a Chilean earthquake. I expected sooner or later it would hit me considering the seismic activity all along the country. Chile’s geography, it’s rugged, mountainous landscape, defines it as a country. It has a bit of everything. The 5000 mile long slice of land wedged between towering summits over 24000 feet and a cold, rugged pacific beach is made of glaciers, deserts, forests, rivers, lakes and volcanoes. All along the expansive Placa de Nazca fault line.

At 8.8 on the Richter scale the quake registered as the one of the strongest since they started measuring. There is something about that earth moving that ruptures your notions of what is protection and what is just another layer between you and the harsh natural world. That ceiling, that roof, the wall of your house can all be ripped apart like paper. The single strongest sensation that I got while huddling in the doorframe of my bedroom. (Not under my blankets thanks to my wife who knew how to react.), was how small and feeble our sense of order really is. The chaos outside afterwards reinforced that feeling. No lights. A dark, damaged city of nearly 6 million people. The intersections were filled with cars playing chicken with each other to get to their destination. You could even see some of the constellations above.

The quake struck at around 3:30am, just off the coast of the Maule region, some 200 km from Santiago. The litoral central is the center of Chile’s Agricultural district, dotted with small communities and a few cities, such as Concepción, where some of the worst destruction was focused. The coast got the worst, with a tsunami follwed in the hours after the quake and taking houses, cars and lives out to sea.

In all the quake lasted 3 minutes. Actually a long time to be shaken violently. But it’s the aftermath that really is startling. The fact that entire cities have been altered forever is hard to grasp. The entire supply of the most basic goods is thrown into question. When doubts of the source of upcoming meals arise, people react by getting as much as they can while they can. For some this means filling shopping carts in the supermarket and waiting the long lines. But People start stealing. Some because they have to, others because they are just thieves. Images on the Chilean TV stations of people looting washing machines. Gymnasiums where the liftin machines and weights have all been stolen. The worst of humanity comes to the surface.

But so does the best. In a mere four days 40-year TV and fundraising veteran Don Francisco organized a massive telethon that raised around USD 60 million. There have also been countless smaller initiatives. On Saturday (March 6) the city was full of all sorts of different fundraising and donating drives. From nurses taking your blood pressure to massages in the Plaza de Armas, lots of music, haircuts for donations and old fashioned peer pressure at the supermarket line urging shoppers to donate some non perishable goods.

Even the mobs that looted Concepción seemed to come together that weekend, leaving thousands of dollars of looted goods in common plazas and along the street.

In Santiago things are more or less normal. There are several neighborhoods that received damage from the quake, especially in the northwest of the city. But for the most part basic services were restored within a few days. People have been out to have drinks, eat food and reflect on all the madness. But the central southern region of the country is a much different reality.

All the destruction is hard to believe. Massive boats moved inland. Entire neighborhoods wiped off the map by tsunamis. Brand new apartment buildings lying on their side like cast away legos. If the photos are intense, the reality must be overwhelming. One friend of mine returned recently from reporting on the tragedy in Concepción and told me he doesn’t know how he can return to his “normal” life of office work here in Santiago. Witnessing the collective loss isn’t easy for an observer, so it must be hell for those affected directly.

When the quake hit I was sleeping and without even knowing what was going on I was between the doorway, almost sure that my apartment would come down. The sheer force and violence of the earth’s movements are enough to unsettle anyone. I look and think back about what was going on in the days leading up to the earthquake, it all seems a bit trivial now. The continuing aftershocks only keep the anxiety going. Last week the ground shook my world, leaving something that is a little less certain, a little less secure, but just as intense and as beautiful as before.