Chile Forum

Region 5 has been spared relative to the south. Nonetheless the official death count is at 19 as of March 1st and there's extensive damage. I'll post relevant links and material of *local* interest here.

For now:

HOW TO HELP, STAY INFORMED

* Datos para ayudar en la quinta region

* Member of the Viña municipal council with good info in his twitter stream: http://twitter.com/ANDRESCELISM/

Feel free to post below but please keep this thread dedicated to REGION 5.

*IMPACT on SERVICES AND SHOPPING*

* Esval plans a water cut of 24/48 hours starting on March 3rd. There's this page but I'm not sure it's thorough:
- http://www.esval.cl/CortesServicio.php

* Chilquinta says the electricity situation should be back to normal by Wednesday:
- http://www.mercuriovalpo.cl/prontus4_no ... 24852.html
- chilquinta.cl

* Valpo metro is closed until risk assessment is done.

* Tramites in Valpo? Not before Wednesday:
mercuriovalpo.cl/prontus4_noticias/site/artic/20100301/pags/20100301130625.html


* The Viña mall is open. List of opened/closed shops, also includes Santiago and the south:
http://nadaseralomismo.com/2010/02/28/l ... ovisiones/

* Map of opened stores:
maps.google.cl/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=es&t=h&source=embed&msa=0&msid=104556930845228125889.000480a98ae40597221b4&ll=-33.023633,-71.532669&spn=0.071101,0.153637&z=13

* (some/many/all?) schools are postponing their opening

* As of Sunday Feb 28 cash was available only at certain ATMs. Itau and BCI worked in Reñaca, Santander and Scotia didn't

* Santa Isabel supermarkets were open in Concon and Reñaca on Feb 28 but cash only, no credit cards

Question: has anyone been able to reload their prepaid phone? If yes, brand and location would be appreciated. It wasn't possible in Reñaca on Sunday.

We have not been able to reload our phones here in El Quisco either. We're about and hour from Valpo and Viña in La Quinta. Have not found anywhere in neighboring Algarrobo to recharge either.

I wonder what the proposed water outage mean for us. We've been without water since Saturday. The rumour was that it would be back by tomorrow evening once they finished working on the damaged site in San Antonio where we get it from...

Llolleo still has no power, shops in the square suffered a lot of damage, structures bulging, windows blown out. Generators running outside stores, lines of people outside the pharmacias. If you go there and a parking attendant comes over, watch. The trick for today is to make out like you owe them 200 pesos but they aren't giving boletas, as in they aren't with the muni. I laughed and asked for my boleta, gave the guy 50 pesos for guiding me out into traffic. No traffic lights there, Camarena the ferreteria was closed, with their people setting the place straight, looked minor comared to the rest of Llolleo. Damage to overpasses looked minor although there there's buckled asphalt, something moved. Power poles at crazy angles along the highway being set straight by the utility. Being in the town made me a little nervous, people seemed scared. I can only imagine how Concepcion must be.

If you still don't have power by Wednesday, here's the number Chilquinta gives on their website to let them know of your location: 600-600-5000.

If someone is nearby Concon and hasn't been able to have a hot shower or reload their essential devices (phone, laptop), don't hesitate to send me a PM so you can drop by and wash up/reload. I have family currently so I'm sorry I can't host anyone right now though: no spare beds.

We have Vonage and stable internet since last night so if you're in the region and have been unable to call abroad, same deal, let me know.

Thanks for the updates and useful info, otravers.

We were out and about in Vina earlier. It was sort of normal in the centre of town, apart from the occasional bit of taped off building (and they were taking the Christmas lights down). Buses, collectivos etc seemed to be running roughly normally. All calm, but a bit subdued.

Town seemed to be well cleaned up from compared to what we saw on Saturday morning (which was hardly much in comparison to down South, just glass and plaster in the main).

Of course, it's now come out that about 12 apartment buildings will have to be condemned due to structural damage:

http://www.mercuriovalpo.cl/prontus4_no ... iovalpo.cl
slideshow of images here: http://portada.diariosregionales.cl/pro ... iovalpo.cl

Lots of pharmacias with 'no hay recargas' signs. Sorry, if I'd realised before we left, I would have found out your networks and tried the smaller places for you.

We don't have gas, and won't do for quite a while, according to our conciege. He said the company have been inundated with calls. A minor inconvenience.

Also, according to El Mercurio, the water cuts now will only affect "el 100 por ciento de Villa Alemana y Quilpué, sólo se extenderá a las zonas de Viña más próximas a Quilpué" - so not Valpo at all, and not nearly as much of Vina as previously thought.
http://www.mercuriovalpo.cl/prontus4_no ... iovalpo.cl

In terms of shops, about 70-80% of the shops along Ave Valparaiso and that area were open. Ripley and Falabella have had damage to their facades/windows at least and were shut. Santa Isabel Vina Plaza and towards the bus station were closed, but the one on Vilanelo was open, as were about 3 others, according to signs (I think 9 Norte, where we went on Saturday, and the one on 4 Oriente (approx addresses).

We went to Unimarc on 1 Norte, which had good stock, no panic, short queues at the checkouts (it may have just reopened).

Thanks cafecreme. It looks like gas for those who have their tank empty (we were lucky to have refilled just days earlier so I don't know firsthand) and prepaid mobile phones are going to be inconveniences for the rest of the week, plus the more limited water cuts (thanks for the update on that). Otherwise I feel thinks are falling into place rather nicely. My wife told me a Lapiz Lopez was looted in Viña though, fucking vultures profiting from the fact authorities are stretched. I hope a couple of these bastards get shot on sight. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about some mum taking a couple bottles of milk for her starving kids here. I'm talking about the sort of people who robbed a kindergarten in Limache.

One of our friends has family in the south who lost a lot, they're organizing to get a small truck worth of goods down there, I should hear tomorrow on what/where to give. Hopefully many similar private initiatives can get the goods directly in the hands of those who need them.

Looks like they might close the Lusitania bridge in Viña:
- http://www.vmasv.cl/regionales/vina-del ... l-mar.html
- http://wikimapia.org/11061999/es/Puente-Lusitania

First assessment of impact on local tourism (not good), agriculture (some impact but probably not major):
http://www.mercuriovalpo.cl/prontus4_no ... iovalpo.cl

A friend of mine told me the winery he's working for in the Santa Cruz region lost a *lot* of wine (there was an article in Wine Spectator as well), it sounds much worse down there.

First estimate: 1,500 houses with structural damage in the region, 6,000 people in Viña:
- http://www.mercuriovalpo.cl/prontus4_no ... 11756.html
- http://www.mercuriovalpo.cl/prontus4_no ... 90447.html

If someone needs medical care in Viña, I can recommend the Ciudad del Mar (we went several times for our kids), they're open for business:
http://www.ccdm.cl/clinica-ciudad-del-m ... ma-normal/

Thanks for the updates, otravers.

I guess the big news this morning for the Gran Valparaiso is that the water cuts have been suspended for the moment:
"La necesidad de completar las obras para normalizar el sistema y asegurar el suministro de agua potable, llevó a la Empresa Sanitaria de Valparaíso (Esval) a suspender de momento el corte generalizado de agua programado para maña por un lapso de 72 horas, para proceder a la reparación del Acueducto Las Vegas.""
http://www.mercuriovalpo.cl/prontus4_no ... iovalpo.cl

otravers, was it the Lapiz Lopez on Valparaiso? It had a massive plate glass window that went. The shoe shop next door had the same problem. Sickening that people would loot. Apparently, three jardins infantils in the region have been looted now.

A couple of the bridges towards the Marga-Marga feria were taped off on Saturday morning, but at least one has reopened...

Not sure about the Lapiz Lopez exact location. In the return to normalcy, stay focused while driving in Viña as some traffic lights still don't work:
http://www.elmartutino.cl/admin/render/noticia/22203

How are you guys doing on phone credit? We're fine, but if you want us to try for you here tomorrow, let me know. (sorry, did mean to ask before).

We're fine, thanks, since the landline came back with the internet (it's all VTR inside).

EDIT by otravers: opps, I got confused by my newfound (and obviously, hopefully temporary) admin powers that I edited and thus butchered your post while I thought I was posting an answer. Sorry!