I was born in Chile and have a large number of family members still there. The news on Friday night (Brisbane time) hit me like a train. I was very worried for my family and desperately trying to find more information on the internet. On television the news covered the story briefly but with the small amount of information coming out of Chile (due to communication problems I imagine) the story was forced to focus on the Tsunami warning that had been issued for the east coast of Australia.
In the morning more news had come to hand and the full extent of the damage was being realised. The Chilean President Michelle Bachelet had announced that there had not been contact with the town of Concepción which was closest to the epicenter. Footage of the destruction showed collapsed highways, buildings and houses; it looked like Chile had gone to war.
Throughout the morning I spent my time glued to Facebook hoping that my Cousins would respond and calling my parents who were trying to reach the rellies on the phone. Hours went past and finally we received word (both via Facebook and phone) that everyone was safe. The family had gone on holidays together and was on the last day of their trip at the beach; they were far enough away from the quake to not have been injured or worse.
The country now lays in shambles and has been declared a state of catastrophe. In the affected areas water and electric systems are not functioning and communication is limited. In the worse hit areas hospitals are not functioning leaving people to wait until the government can open field hospitals. Thousands of people are still missing and the death toll is expected to continue to rise; my cousin informs me that people are still very much scared.
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