Chile Forum

I have started a dedicated forum just for all things related to the earthquake and reconstruction.

We will call this the official main thread, specific topics can be opened in the forum in general.

Please subscribe not only to this thread, but the forum in general at the bottom left corner to be updated on new topics and news as they develop.

We just got our internet connection back in Temuco. I am not sure how long we will keep it. As soon as I get a few things under control, I will post back with everything we know.

Hi Charles: Glad to see you and Zandra are OK. Didn`t feel anything here in La Junta and it came to us via worried friends in Japan.
Be checking in to see whats happeining.
Go well

Thank you very much for keeping everyone updated

Here in El Tabo we had water all day yesterday, lost pressure last night so we're glad we filled the tubs.
The toilets can be flushed with salt water if it comes to it.

Hello mepgrub

"Has anyone heard about damage in Pichilemu? Did they sustain flooding too? We have good friends there, and I have been unable to reach them.
Mardy"

My aunt told me that it was pretty bad, the sea flooded an artisan's fair took all the games and many more things, but Pichilemu we can say that it's "fine"

The following embassies in Chile have contact me at I Love Chile/The Pulse/ Santiago Radio and have asked us to give the following information to their citizens
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The Australian Embassy in Santiago is in the process of contacting Australians registered with us to confirm their welfare. If you are an Australian in need of urgent assistance or have been unable to contact concerned relatives in Australia, please let us know.

We are experiencing communication problems ourselves but you can email us on ausembscl@gmail.com. Alternatively you can try calling +611 300 555 135.

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The US Embassy in Chile request American Citizens to contact family and friends in the US who may be worried about you. If internet and telephone services are not available, you may be able to contact people using SMS (Cell text message) or other forms of social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

If you are in need of assistance or aware of American citizens in need of assistance, contact local authorities, the U.S. Embassy in Santiago (tel: 330-3476, email santiagoamcit@state.gov) or the State Department in Washington at 1-888-407- 4747

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The New Zealand Embassy in Santiago asks New Zealand citizens please reassure your families that you are OK and call home directly if you can. If you are a New Zealander in Chile who urgently needs assistance, contact the NZ Embassy on the duty phone 56 9 9333 8785.

If you are are already registered with the embassy here, please confirm you are safe and well by emailing rosemary.paterson01@gmail.com

If you are not already registered through safetravel.govt.nz, we recommend you do so.
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SUNDAY UPDATE from Pirque: I am sorry for the lack of updates since Saturday but we are still without power, water, telephone and internet. I have traveled into Santiago to my office, by a very surprisingly well maintained Transantiago. I have had to come into the office to charge our cellphones and laptops, it doesn't look like we are getting ours in Pirque back anytime soon, but i look on the bright side, our house is still standing and my wife and 3 kids (our youngest being born on the day of the earthquake in Haiti)

We have added a people finder to our newspaper website thepulse.cl it is run by Google.

We are working at updating the paper the best we can, but are editor is stuck in Pucon without lights, water and internet and me stuck in Pirque in the same boat. All of our radio and writing staff have now been accounted for and are slowly getting their communications back so we should be able to give more updates.

We have managed to update the online newspaper and we are in the process of updating the Santiago Radio Bulletins. If anyone has any hi-res photos we are doing an entire section of the print newspaper, not on the damage of the quake, but all of our experiences, like where were you. message me if you want to include yours in the next edition of Chile's only English Language print newspaper The Pulse

And I want to thank everyone here at ALL CHILE

Cheers

Dan

We got a lot of information that is not being reported out to the world, and I am not even sure where I should start. I am going to try and start with the basics, even if it has been said other places.

First, Zandra and I are fine. Our house and office suffered only minor damage. We were without electricity, water, phones, internet, for about 12-24 hours as they came up and went down throughout the day after the quake. I am not sure if this will last. So we may drop out of touch again. We are for the most part fully functional again for now, and have been over the last 24 hours in contact with people all over southern Chile, I just was not able to get internet accept for a few mins on my blackberry last night.

Status of various locations we have information about:

The main parts affected by the earthquake are the 7th and 8th regions of Chile, and parts of the 9th and all points North of Temuco.

Temuco
Temuco, has relatively minor damage in the center of the city. Mostly the parts with old adobe buildings. The rest of the city only suffered minor damage because their are either new buildings or they are wood construction. There are two deaths that I know of in Temuco. As the quake struck early in the morning, very few people were in the center of the city. Two girls died at a disco when a wall collapsed. We are still experiencing regular aftershocks (just had one a bit ago).

Yesterday we toured the city. Everything seems fairly calm and orderly for the most part. There are long lines at the gas stations, and small stores are open. We have reports from our neighbors that grocery stores are opening, and even a restaurant or two.

All points in Southern Chile, south of Temuco seem to be mostly unaffected other than communication and transportation problems.

Chiloe
Chilloe is cut off, there are no ferries to the mainland. Communication is spotty at best, but we were able to talk to one of our staff that lives in Chiloe.

People outside the country trying to contact people in the country that are known to have last been in Chile South of Temuco, you need to be patient and not tax the communication lines. They are most likly o.k., and we know for a fact there are people in remote areas of the South that simply do not know what happened because they have not been to a town yet.

Anyone wishing to get out of Southern Chile, South of Temuco, should move south and then out. If you are safe in the South, and not in a hurry, stay where you are at.

Do not try to transit the main affected areas of the 8th and 7th regions unless you have no other choice. Those roads need to be reserved for emergency use only at this point.

The Airport in Santiago is now partly operational. We are waiting for more details in the next few hours I will post more about working airports in the South, and all other information. Please hang in there, post what you know, and we will be back with more info.

We have a few friends, clients, and other people that are still unaccounted for, and thus they must take priority at the moment for our resources. We stand ready to help anyone that needs assistance in the South. Please of course limit this to real emergencies.

We have established a blog site for Bechtel employees in Chile: http://bechtelspouseschile.blogspot.com/
We have also established a fan page: http://tinyurl.com/chilebechtelspouse
Information and support for employees and their families in Chile will be posted there.

Bechtel Spouses Group / friendship building, shared social and cultural interaction, support and survival, resources and information, and learning together
Los cónyuges de Bechtel Group / construcción de amistad, comparte la interacción social y cultural, el apoyo y la supervivencia, los recursos y la información, y aprender juntos

Message from Jim Hynes, Bechtel Chile Ltda
Bechtel Chile management provided employees with the following information earlier today via e-mail:

"We have established a Crisis Action Team (CAT) and a Command Center at a local hotel. We are working 24x7 to confirm the safety of all our employees and their families.
We are in close and frequent communication with Corporate Security, and current status information is being provided on the BecWeb.
We are also forming a family assistance system through our spouses group and additional information will be provided."

They also requested that all employees respond via e-mail to inform of their current situations.

Bechtel Chile has evacuated the jobsites except for essential personnel. They are also conducting facility assessments today at the Burgos and Coyancura facilities.

Finally, they requested that employees do not come to the Santiago offices today, or Monday March 1.
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La gerencia de Bechtel Chile mandó un correo a todos los empleados hoy, entregando los siguientes datos:

"Hemos establecido un Equipo de Acción de Crisis (CAT) y un centro de control en un hotel local. Estamos trabajando 24 horas al día/7 días a la semana para confirmar la seguridad y bien estar de todos nuestros empleados y sus familias.
Estamos en comunicación cercana y frecuente con Seguridad Corporativo, e información actualizada se esta colocando en el BecWeb.
Estamos también formando un sistema de asistencia a la familia a través de nuestro grupo de esposas e información adicional será entregado."

Además solicitaron que todos los empleados respondieran via correo, indicando su estado actual.

Bechtel Chile ha evacuado los proyectos en terreno con la excepción de personal critico y tambien está realizando evaluaciones de las instalaciones hoy en las oficinas de Burgos y Coyancura.

Pidieron que los empleados no vinieran a las oficinas en Santiago hoy, ni lunes 1 de marzo.

Futaleufu is fine. Everyone we have talked to says they felt nothing. Communication is normal.

Cochamo south of PM, is fine.

Has anyone been in contact with our other forum moderator eeuunikkeiexpat? I don't see any post by him since the disaster.

The president of Chile just upgraded the number of dead to over 700, and said for everyone to brace for more.

Please help find Sam! 16-year old American boy living with Dr. Francisco Luna near Concepcion. Sam has been volunteering at a homeless shelter while learning medicine. Boise family urgently needs word that he is ok. Anyone with contacts in or near that area, please email wbslaw@gmail.com or call 208 412-7467. View video at http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/85752882.html?tab=video

We just had one of our strongest aftershock. We had to get out of the house. This is not over yet.

We just started a dedicated thread for missing people here:
topic3966.html#p38984

We will watch it closely, and if we have any resources or contacts in the areas that the person was last seen we will do our best to find out anything we can.

What we know is that Concepcion Chile is unreachable at this point. We have been in contact with people in Mulchin, Los Angeles, and Chillan at times but communication is spotty.

Glad you all are OK. The news on twitter is very good. Anything I can do please let me know. I have started a thread on our forum to appeal for help from the UK. You can follow us on twitter for regular updates on http://twitter.com/LatinForums