(Yes, I'm going to update you all on the past two week's events later this weekend--highlights include orientation, beach every day, sickness, and falling off of a bus--and I'll post them when they chronologically happened (so before this post), but considering today's events and the fact that people might become worried about me if they're keeping up with the news, I'm going to be posting any updates here.)
I've been glued to the news all day. In case you didn't know, there was a huge earthquake this morning in Japan (8.9 to be exact...the images are horrible). The force has caused potentially-tsunami-sized-waves directed at the coasts of many countries that border the Pacific Ocean, and considering the fact that the ocean hugs the entire coast of Chile, the whole country is in "Alerta de tsunami". This isn't as severe as being in "Alarma"--it just means that there's potential for tsunami waves. If it was "Alarma," the waves would definitely be coming. (Think "Tornado Watch" vs. "Tornado Warning").
That being said, if there were to be tsunami waves, the government has released times of expected impact with the coast--Viña del Mar, where I live, isn't supposed to receive any action until around midnight. Easter Island, which is a territory of Chile, has already been evacuated in case of waves because they would be the first area to be hit. It was projected to be hit by the first wave around 9.00 CLST (CLST is 2 hours ahead of EST), but nothing has happened yet--it's still very calm. The government will base their projection of the size/force of the waves that will hit the continent on what happens on Easter Island.
While there haven't been many people in the streets at all today, all of the Chileans are very calm about the situation. My host mom says that if we do have to evacuate to the hills, once we hear the alarms we have an hour-long window to walk from our apartment, in downtown Viña, to Sausalito, which is the highest spot in Viña. Tatiana's also said that since we're about 10 blocks from the beach and there are other tall buildings in front of us, our building won't be structurally affected. This is good, because I've only had to pack a small backpack for my documents, medication, and electronics. Hopefully everything will stay calm, but it's good to be prepared.
Update 22.12 CLST: Tatiana, Sebastian and I are driving up to a friend's house who lives in the hills. It's pitch dark now, so we couldn't walk anyway if there was a city wide alarm. But nothing is happening yet, we're just going up to the hills to pass the time. If it gets to be one in the morning and still no big waves have come, we won't have anything to worry about and we'll go home. Love you all!
Update 23.25 CLST: All of Chile has moved to Alarma, but were already in the hills. were watching on the tv that theyre evacuating viña del mar. Im on Liuva's computer (daughter of Tatiana's friend) so the keyboard is all weird. Also, because its her computer, this will be my last update until I get home! but im safe :))))
Update 1.43 CLST: Home!! While there were strong waves breaking, they didn't come past the beach :) Now, bed time.
Even though Chile's been lucky enough to have calm waters, please keep the Japanese people (and any foreigners in Japan--especially students) in your thoughts and prayers <3
