Wed. 3 March - 5 days after earthquake

I managed to get through to my mother last night. They had just had power restored in her apartment, and were getting some water (a trickle) from the tap. Before that, my brother Ricardo had brought in water for them. Power is on and off (it went off while we were on the phone). My mother sounded all right. I thought she would be struggling to cope now that everything would have sank in, and the change of routine and the aftershocks could be upsetting her terribly, but she still sounded blissfully unaware of what has been going on ... in the circumstances, perhaps is not a bad thing! Mind you without power, she hasn't been able to learn much about the extent of it all.

Today I received an email from my brother Ricardo. He's lucky to have Internet, he says, as most people still can't get it back, and his computer had not suffered any damage! He says many people from my mother's apartment building have left the building because it had been declared temporarily inhabitable. The Council has been checking houses and buildings and placing a flag in the ones that need to be pulled down and people have to vacate. Eventually the flag was taken down and the buiding was declared habitable again, so she'll be staying. But Ricardo has been staying with her overnight, as she does get scared with the aftershocks. She's been sleeping with her clothes on - doesn't dare to get her nighty on yet.

I also managed to get through to Hugo's house today, being 11 o'clock at night there. They had just arrived back from Panguipulli (near Villarrica Volcano). It took him about 12 hours to return, the roads looked pretty bad and had to do many detours into towns etc as many bridges are broken. He had a lot of material damage inside the house, and his kitchen sink and tops had come off the wall! but thankfully hadn't found any cracks on the walls. They had left a key with a neighbor who had been to clear their freezer. Their eldest son had hitchhiked back to Talca earlier though (it took him 2 days to return), as they were afraid for the safety of their house as the government hadn't given any help yet to the most affected and people have been looting supermarkets and empty houses. He was also supposed to start University today - for the first time!, but starting date has been moved to March 15th. He doesn't think his University has suffered much damage as it's a new building, but he has gone past others that look in very bad shape.

Hugo told me about Gustavo... He did have some agonizing moments with his daughter Soledad and little Federica (his granddaughter). As it happens Soledad, who lives in Argentina, was holidaying in Chile at Iloca, one of the beaches on the affected coast. For 2 and half days they didn't know if she was dead or alive. She was staying with some friends there, and again, there was no warning from the authorities of a tsunami, but she says that somebody just shouted tsunami and she picked up her daughter and together with her friends, started up the hill in her little car, had an accident in the dark going up and had trouble starting it as she was so nervous, but managed to get to the top. They waited till morning to see the devastation below. They were stranded there for a long time, with no means of getting through to family. They dared to come down the hill to see if her friends house (holiday home) had been saved, and it had! as fortunately it wasn't that close to the sea.... Even so, they could only get to it by foot, as it was too muddy to drive. They picked up some food and clothes and went back to the hill - the aftershocks still being so strong that they feared there could be another earthquake or tsunami. Those that had their houses closer to the sea and managed to get away from the waves, tell of having seen cars with people inside being washed away...

Eventually she turned up at her grandmother's place in Hualañe, near Curico and could let her family know that they were both alive.

She describes the widespread devastation she saw on the road, little towns and beaches on the way to her grandmother's, all on the ground. In all of that area there are ... (there were now)... lots of historic buildings, even a town called Vichuquen which had been declared a World Heritage town by UNESCO. She says the images of desolation, grief and distress she saw will stay with her for a long time. The driving was slow, as it was a constant caravan of cars wanting to get home from their holiday destinations. She passed many towns at night, people in the streets with bonfires lit and covered in blankets to protect themselves from the cold (even though is Summer in Chile, coastal zones are much cooler).

Most shops are still closed, if they sell anything it's rationed. Prices have soared. Phone lines are still hit and miss.