Fractured road from flooding
Toppled apartment building
Steel framed building that burned
Justin next to a building that is no longer
Massive mid-rise structural failure yet still standing
We took an overnight bus from Santiago to Concepcion arriving to a cold blustery morning, seeing the outskirts of Concepcion in a taxi to the hostel. It looks like the rest of SA so far with low level houses and yards cluttered with some debris and a spattering of poor graffiti and the occasional piece that inspires. We exit the cab, assaulted by wind hurling the dust and dirt in our faces you might expect in a damaged city trying to rebuild.
Walking to the central market to get lunch, I notice the buildings in this area are short, most not taller than three stories, and all built touching each other. As we walk the sun breaks through where a building used to stand and warms our cold bodies. There is a corrugated steel fence blocking the rubble but an open door provides a peak. The wires and brick still hanging from the neighboring building and the piles of rubble still waiting to be removed tell the tale of the February 27th earthquake. The term "earth shattering" comes to mind with new perspective seeing the damage the 8.8 magnitude quake has caused. Every few blocks there is corrugated fencing where a building used to stand, some with open doors and workers rebuilding and others stagnant.
We walked for 3 hours around the city surveying the damage and taking in the city whose heartbeat is still alive with commerce and rebuilding. The damage still towers over the city with one mid rise building having multiple floors fracture and give out, now standing ominously over the city.
We stumbled upon an apartment building whose foundation gave way and toppled over onto its back now showing us the concrete structure that once supported it. I can't help but think of the fear and trauma the occupants still inside must have felt. On the other side of the building you can see the top 3 floors fractured off when it hit the ground. It is a dramatic sight and one that is burnt into my memories like stained glass. The rebuilding of Concepcion is already underway with construction crews rebuilding facades, cleaning up debris, and the occasional tower crane in the skyline.
The local bus to Talcahuano and San Vicente reveals the second part of the quake damage that was not as prominent in the news coverage. These 2 towns make up a small peninsula bordering the Pacific ocean and got the brunt of the Tsunami caused by the quake. A local explained the waves surged for 3 hours raising the sea 10 feet leaving a trail of destruction as it receded into the sea. They were digging up and replacing the utilities along the water, and there are still piles of trash waiting to be removed. We stopped on the way back at the mall and found it packed with families eagerly spending there money and consuming in surprisingly similar fashion as we do in the states.
<><> LTD
Matt/Todd
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