Earthquake rattles Chile

In Santiago, the capital of Chile, 300 miles northeast of Concepcion, Luther student Elliott Dejmal (‘10) was awoken by a deep rumbling noise in a hotel room violently shaking back and forth. Dejmal, in Santiago for orientation in his study-abroad program, had never experienced an earthquake before but remembered from orientation to get underneath a door frame as quickly as he could.

“They told us every once in a while they would experience tremors, but after a while I knew this was more than a tremor,” Dejmal said.

Courtney Gill (‘11), another Luther student, was staying on the 11th floor of the same hotel and woke up convinced the world was ending.

“I just started praying really hard that it would stop,” Gill said. “It seemed like it went on forever. Luckily I had a flashlight on the phone I had there, and we found our way out and down the stairs [when it ended]. Out in the streets we heard sirens all over.”

Plunged into darkness, the capital city of Santiago reeled in the minutes and hours after the quake. Upturned cars and power lines littered dark streets as people milled about, most in pajamas.

Scientists measured the quake, which lasted about three minutes, at 8.8 magnitude, five hundred times stronger than the earthquake in Haiti last January. Fortunately the hypocenter, or focus, of the earthquake was relatively deep, at 21.7 miles, and building codes are strict in a country hit only 50 years ago by the largest earthquake ever recorded: a magnitude 9.5.

Still, nearly a million buildings were destroyed, according to Chilean President Bachelet, and the death toll continues to inch just above 700.

As a flurry of 30 aftershocks battered Chile that Saturday concerns grew over the possibility of a tsunami. Evacuations of coastal towns in Chile and other Pacific countries occurred all day, though no major tsunami actually ensued.

Both Gill and Dejmal had plans to move in with their host families in the following days, but instead were shuttled by ISA (International Studies Abroad) to a hotel outside Valparaiso. From there they were able to call their parents to let them know they were still alive.

“ISA has done a good job staying contact with our parents and with Luther,” Gill said. “They called our parents right away to tell them we were alive... They aren’t recommending that we evacuate or anything.”

Ultimately the decision to evacuate rests in the hands of the separate study abroad groups; students enrolled in such programs are technically their liabilities. Still, Luther’s study abroad office keeps close tabs on students in emergency situations.

“That Saturday (of the earthquake) I was already coming into the office,” International Links Coordinator Terry Uhlenhake said. “I looked for messages from the ISA and IES people but it was still early, about 9 o’clock in the morning... I called the ISA director and shortly after had email from them saying all the students were okay.”

After assessing the damage and hiring inspectors to ensure the safety of host family’s houses, the ISA gave Gill and Dejmal the okay to move in. Since then both have been adjusting to Chilean life, though such life is now colored by the earthquake recovery and relief effort.

“A grassroots group called Un Techo Para Chile has been all over the streets, collecting money and donations,” Dejmal said. “They have these white apron sort things they all wear... and they stand around outside grocery stores and take donations. They’re also collecting a lot of stuff at the school we’re going to, the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso.... the majority of the help I’ve seen so far has been internal; Chileans helping Chileans.”

Coming in the wake of the devastating Haitian earthquake, Chile’s quake left many with concerns over a possible scarcity of international aid. Such aid has been forthcoming, however, in part due to efforts coordinated by people like William Montoya (‘?).

Montoya, who prefers the title of facilitator, has been coordinating the relief work of Luther’s recently created emergency response committee, the LCSEC (Luther College Student Senate Emergency Committee). Visible on campus during Haiti relief efforts, the committee has been raising money and awareness for Chile as well as bringing student groups together in a united effort.

“We want to have a united force and get student organizations to come together,” Montoya said. “We want all the groups with global concerns on campus to come together to form this committee.”

The committee has also worked with groups downtown in Decorah, and has hopes to supplement its fundraising with long-term projects like bringing Chilean students to the U.S. and establishing a sister-city relationship between Decorah and Port-au-Prince.

The group will have a meeting next Monday at 9:30 in Oneota for all individuals and student groups interested.

“If our organizations work together as Luther College, our impact is greater than if we invest in our own separate projects. It’s good to go through an organization, but our impact is greater if we are the ones doing it,” Montoya said.