A huge, 8.8 magnitude, earthquake shook southern Chile early yesterday morning.
Chile is a hotspot for earthquakes, and since the two previous ones (a devastating 9.5 quake in 1960 and another 7.8 in 1985), new building codes and preparedness plans were in place, so the damage is less than it could have been and the country still hasn’t requested international aid. Still, the death toll is in the hundreds and there is widespread infrastructure damage.
The airport was closed for 72 hours due to extensive damage to the control tower. We have no clue whether our flight for next Sunday will be cancelled. L has already gotten news from one of her aunts, whose house is badly damaged, and is worried about her father who usually has no fixed addressed.
We are hoping we will be allowed and able to reach Santiago as expected, though the trip will definitely have a different character than we anticipated. If we can help, we would like to. Our thoughts are with everyone down there.