The earthquake that struck at 3:34 a.m. on Feb. 27 in Chile raised death tolls to more than 300 with many more missing. Bakersfield College Spanish professor Luis Guajardo, born in Chile, speaks of the earthquake that shook his country.
“No family of mine has been hurt. But I was told that a friend of mine from my town of Peralillo lost his nephew,” said Guajardo. All of Guajardo’s family is in Chile, including his mother, sisters and brothers, and he is the only one here in the United States with his wife and children.
When Guajardo communicated to Chile to find out what the damage was in his town, he was told that there was major damage to buildings. “Although the earthquake happened in the area of Talca, located to the north of my town, it was strong enough to cause 60 percent damage to buildings and streets in my town,” he said.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the newer buildings in Chile are constructed to help withstand the shocks. Guajardo said that most of the houses in his town that were damaged were constructed of adobe.
“Most houses fall because they are old, some of them built from previous centuries, which causes old adobe construction to fall. But the new construction laws are making sure that the buildings are strong enough to withstand an earthquake,” he said.
The town of Peralillo will be “getting lots of help from the central government and local institutions. It’s a province that is known for winery and there is a lot of exportation that happens, so many of the private companies have been donating money to help reconstruct the town,” said Guajardo.
Chile, however, is a country with any experience with earthquakes. The largest earthquake in the world, with a magnitude of 9.5, happened in May 1960 in southern Chile. There were more than 3,000 people injured, 1,625 killed, 2 million homeless and $550 million in damage. “Chile is well known because of its earthquakes, and it’s the worst country to live because of earthquakes, according to records I have read,” said Guajardo.
Because Chile has been through 13 earthquakes in total in previous years, more people are aware of the action to take when it happens. “My family would go to the back patio when earthquakes would happen. But it’s a feeling that I was very much afraid of, because everything happens so quickly, so fast, that you have a feeling of impotence of not being able to do anything. I believe you become really religious at that moment, praying to God, because you don’t know when its going to end, and your hoping it ends soon, but all the noise, everything moving around you, the dust rising from the buildings, its all a frightening experience,” said Guajardo.
Locally, Guajardo is trying to get something together with the community to raise money and funds to send to Chile. “With all the money and resources Chile receives, although it’s going to be a challenge to reconstruct everything and start from scratch, they have goodwill and will make it,” he said.
If you would like to help in the reconstruction of Chile, visit www.andesfoundation.com, The American Red Cross, www.ayudaforchile.com, and other online Chilean resources for more information on ways to help.