Continuing Aftershocks - Monday, March 29, 2010

We felt at least two more aftershocks during the night, Sunday night.  So I checked the USGS reports, and there was a 4.8 in my region about 11:08 last evening, and then at 3:35 AM this morning there was another one, a 5.3.   These continuing aftershocks concern us, but they are (so far) not damaging.  The house just moves very slowly along with the ground moving back and forth.   But we'll be so happy when these stop for good!

Another strong aftershock Sunday afternoon March 21

We just experienced another strong aftershock, a 5.7 magnitude...our home moved back and forth for what seemed like a minute or more.   But no damage was done.  Here is the USGS notification map....

Highway Damage near our place after the huge 8.8 earthquake

We were quite surprised to see the damage to our local highway.....this would be equivalent to a county highway in the USA.....and we understand now why this road was closed for several days after the big quake.  The pavement split apart and both sides of the break actually shifted sideways more than one meter.   You can see the white center line in the photo below....this was a straight road here before the quake.....

Chile Earthquake Blog - Tuesday Morning Update March 16

Everything was going smoothly yesterday and last evening until after we went to bed and then we were shocked again with an earthquake about 11:22 PM with more "shakes, rattles, and rolls", but not the kind I like! We were startled, so I got up and turned on the TV to see how big it was.....it was a 6.7....shook the entire house and earth like it was nothing.   Then at 12:05 AM another one hit...this time only a 5.5 but still it's scary when the whole house starts moving with creaking noises, and our home is solid concrete and brick structure -- all walls and floors.

Monday Morning Update March 15

It was mostly quiet during Sunday night except for a three-hour national power failure which some say was a result of some previous earthquake damage. But this morning at 8:08 AM, we felt another strong aftershock, this time measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale....we will be so happy when these aftershocks stop!

Here is the USGS map showing this latest earthquake:

Day Five - After the Big One

We finally got electricity again late yesterday evening and since the aftershocks were reducing in strength and frequency, we decided it was safe to start sleeping in our home again instead of the tent.

But we were shocked this morning before daylight when the house started shaking again about 6:20 AM. That was a 6.3 and about the strongest we have felt since the big one last Saturday. Then at 7:31 we felt another one, not quite as strong but closer to us. It was a 5.1. Then as I'm typing this...I just to run outside again....about 8:47 AM we felt another strong one....shook the house, windows rattled, and my wife was outside and we both felt the ground shaking quite strongly under our feet. We will be so happy when these aftershocks are over. We're hearing on TV this last one minutes ago at about 8:47 AM was 6.8 magnitude. This is scary. You could physically see our house shaking. So, unfortunately for us, it seems these aftershocks are really earthquakes themselves, and are continuing and maybe even increasing in intensity. This latest 6.8 quake in red on the USGS map below is right over the area where we live. It will only take a slightly stronger one to knock out our electricity again. We hope that doesn't happen. Also, a stronger one could also cause more serious damage to our home. We are concerned. The 6.8 is much stronger than the 6.3 that woke us up this morning.

Day Three - After the Big One - 3 March 2010

Tuesday morning.....we are still without power. Running on solar and/or generator at times. We are still feeling aftershocks every little while. CNN said the big one was felt in every country in South America. Sao Paulo felt it 1800 miles away. We live near the city of Chillan.....it's NE of Concepcion.....we are about the same distance from the epicenter of the earthquake as is Concepcion. Actually Chillan is closer - exactly 100 km. from the epicenter of the big quake, Concepcion is 115 km. It was very horrible here. We are still feeling aftershocks every little while.....they are expected to continue for a month or longer. But we are ok. We have plenty of food---to last months if necessary. Because roads and highways and bridges are out, there will be big problems with deliveries of food, fuels, etc. There may be martial law -- there is already a nightly curfew in Concepcion. We live at about Km. 18 right near the highway ...the highway that runs between Chillan and Coihueco.

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Day Four - After the Big One - 4 March 2010

People in the states are not getting the whole story of this Chile earthquake. I have DirecTV here, so I have the advantage of being able to watch the local coverage, plus the coverage by CNN and FOX. On the first and second day after the quake, CNN had almost continuous coverage of the two largest cities here (only), and FOX had very little coverage which is understandable because FOX isn't really a news network anyway, but a commentary network. There are five major national TV stations here in Chile, and four of these have had continuous coverage of the quake and the destruction every day and is continuing. What we are seeing on all four of these national Chilean stations is the real destruction.....there are many towns and small cities that are completely destroyed. CNN of course cannot possibly have reporters and correspondents in all these places, so you are not seeing any of this coverage in the states. There is total destruction in many areas. They look like war zones or worse. The news reporting is continuing on these four stations without any commercial breaks. There are still many small towns and cities that are inaccessible by road because of the quake, and they are getting to them by helicopter as fast as possible. From what I'm seeing, the Chilean government is even underestimating the amount of the destruction. Today is our fifth day since the quake, and we still don't have electricity. The power company will not even take my name or account number, but instead they are giving a general message to all callers that all workers and repairmen are working 24 hours per day and they will get to everyone as soon as possible. One thing is good....the aftershocks are now fewer and lighter, maybe we feel one every three or four hours instead of every 15 minutes. We are still sleeping in our tent outside in a clear area....Clare is still afraid to sleep in the house.

Day Two - After the big Quake - 1 March 2010

We've been through hell. In my 67 years, no experience like that before. We jumped out of bed...got into the closet thinking the roof might collapse. Everything on the closet shelves came down on us.....we were shook sideways VIOLENTLY.....didn't think we would live through that. They say it shook continuously for 45 seconds but I'll swear it was more like 2 minutes and we were screaming.....we didn't think it would stop. We were being shoved against the closet shelf edges, etc.....I should say slammed against. I've never been that shook up before...ever. Now it is Monday afternoon and the aftershocks are still continuing.....one about every 15 minutes or so that we can feel....it's kind of like the chair under us is wobbling or something.....sometimes the windows rattle. We are sleeping outside in our tent.....we are both scared to sleep inside yet. Our house is basically ok but sustained some minor damage. Ceramic wall tiles were broken on the interior walls in almost every room and crashed to the floor... also all glasses and dishes etc were thrown outside the cabinets to the kitchen floor and shattered....broken glass everywhere. Bottles of vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce...everything thrown out of closed cabinet doors and busted on the floor. No power yet....we're on solar power. And we use out generator in the evening before bed, then I get up and turn on the battery (solar backup) systen about 3 AM .....this keeps our deepfreezer and refrigerator running fine. The phone service, and internet, just came back on minutes ago.