E a Rt H qU aK e - The First Day

After a few hours of sleep, we all woke up to a different Temuco. All previous plans were scratched, and a new plan of action was put in place. Around 10 am, Earlynne Thompson (GMSA co-worker in Temuco) got through to our home phone (land line) to check up on our family. She told us that she and her husband, Daryl, were fine (Praise the Lord), but there was much damage down at the Bible Institute.

My dad, Jordan, Ben, and I decided to venture out by vehicle to see if we could get to the Institute to assess the damages, take pictures, and help Daryl clean up in any way.

The following are shots I took on our way to the Bible Institute Sat. morning, Feb 27th, 2010.

About a block from our house, a red pickup was crushed by the neighbor's chimney.

Downtown Temuco suffered a lot of damage. Many of the store front buildings were old and crumbled. Many blocks were closed off due to the debris in the streets.

We found a place to park around two blocks from the BI. Many people were out in the streets, taking pictures and video. The above and below picture were taken on the same block as the Bible Institute. Daryl told me that two people had died on that same block.






People had the sense that this was a major historical (and tragic) event for their city and country. 90% of the stores were shut down the morning following the earthquake. Hardware stores were open to provide people with needed tools for repairs. The electricity and water were shut off around 10:30 am.

The photo above was taken from the corner looking back at the Temuco Bible Institute (the pink building on the right).

As early as 10 hours after the quake, long lines at the local gas stations were forming, due to panic.
The main highway in Chile (Route 5) was cut in eight different places (cut meaning: bridges down or road damage). Gas trucks were going to be delayed for several days. Many people were on vacation during the last weekend of the summer season, and were worried how there were going to get back home to check on family and friends.

In the next post, we will explain and show the extent of the earthquake damages at the Bible Institute.