There were no reports of any Trinidadians being adversely affected by Wednesday’s 8.3 magnitude earthquake in Chile. However, one Trini who was stranded in the wake of the earthquake managed to leave the country yesterday.
The T&T Guardian was informed yesterday the West Indian Tobacco Company (Witco) employee got a flight out yesterday and was safely on her way home. This was confirmed by Witco’s managing director Jean Pierre Du Coudray.
The earthquake hit Chile’s coastline around 8 pm on Wednesday. Eight people were reportedly killed, 20 injured and one million people were evacuated from the shoreline. However, there was no clear report on the level of damage the country sustained.
A large wave also hit the coastal Chilean city of Tongoy at about 8.20 pm, minutes after the earthquake.
In the Chilean capital of Santiago, more than 230km from the epicentre of the quake, buildings swayed and thousands fled their homes to take refuge in the streets. However, there was little damage in Santiago.
Kris Cordova Durán, a school teacher from Santiago, told T&T Guardian yesterday it was business as usual in the capital city.
“Structures here in Santiago are built for earthquakes. Here people are very used to earthquakes. The buildings are very well constructed. The buildings do very well with earthquakes,” she said.
As T&T Guardian was interviewing Cordova Durán, she was in the middle of her school’s celebration of Fiestas Patrias which is a two-day national holiday to celebrate Chile’s independence and an expression of Chilean culture. Cordova Durán said the earthquake had not hampered the festivities.
Co-ordinator of the Office of Disaster Preparedness, Dr Stephen Ramroop, told T&T Guardian they were working closely with their counterparts in Chile to see what the country needed. Like Dominica, Ramroop said T&T was prepared to send Chile what they needed.
He disclosed there were some T&T nationals in Chile but he was not sure how many or if they would need assistance leaving the South American country.