Message about the earthquake in Chile

This email was sent from one of the Ursuline sisters at the Casa Ursulina mission in Chillan, Chile to a local knitter who has gone to Chile several times to teach women there how to spin yarn on spinning wheels (as opposed to the traditional way, using drop spindles). We sell their yarn and send the proceeds back to the mission to pay for more spinning wheels.

From: Mimi Ballard > Subject: Re: OK?????????? 

I guess it just takes and 8.8 earthquake to get me to  write, huh!!!! 
Ruth and I were commenting last week how strange it  was that march was coming and you (Susan) weren't  here......just look what you missed!!
I still can't  believe this house could dance around THAT much and not fall  down!!! but it didn't.....didn't even have any structural  damage, even though the earthquake was 8.6 here....now I  really believe it when they say chile is a country that  builds to withstand earthquakes. The earthquake in 1939  that leveled chillan and killed 33000 people was not as  strong as this one...and there is no comparison to how much better chillan withstood this quake. 

Chillan is not as damaged as other places...mostly because we are not on the coast, and the  city is smaller than Concepcion. The epicenter was a bit  off shore from Cobquecura (the place we went that has all  the sea lions and the "church rock".) That is  the only town on the coast in this and the 7th region that  didn't have a tsunami, but the last I heard the town is about 80% destroyed because they have so many old houses  made of adobe. We didn't have electricity until wed. night so only then did we see tv and all the destruction in other  areas, especially from the tsunami which is heart breaking  to watch...so many lives lost.

Most people survived the  earthquake....it's the tsunami that killed.  We have been around to several people's houses  here in the poblacion. The original houses all held up  well....but many of the added on rooms either fell down or  are too damaged to live in....people often do their own  add-ons with whatever materials they can find, so they  aren't always so well built.....but mostly people are  thankful to be alive, which is nothing short of a miracle given the intensity of the quake.

Everyone's immediate  need was water, which came back on in this area after 2  days, thank God!! The next big need was  security....something like a psychotic fear of being robbed  happened to the whole town all at once (partly due to the  fact that the jail collapsed and 269 prisoners escaped), but  mostly due to fear-produced rumors and the dark...monday  night was a night of gun shots, people running around and  hollering chasing who knows what. the next night a curfew  was set and the military came out to keep order and  everybody relaxed a little. Lack of food is becoming a  problem, what with roads in bad shape and all the need to  send food to concepcion and the coast. But, the grocery  stores a functioning on a smaller scale. People who live  day to day on odd jobs are unable to buy...those are the  ones the government is helping and we are doing what we  can. 

Got to go....somebody at the door.  You would not believe the stuff Carola is doing  with felt....the woman is really an artist!!
Take care, 
Love, 
Mimi