Chile Earthquake Spurs Concern on the Homefront

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake—one of the highest ever recorded—struck central Chile on Saturday, killing over 700 people, destroying homes, and leaving members of the Harvard community deeply anxious about the status of students studying abroad and loved ones residing in the country.

In immediate response to the disaster, the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies’ regional office in Santiago, Chile ensured that Harvard Study Abroad students were all safe and sound, according to Todd Washburn, Harvard’s assistant provost for international affairs.

Saturday’s earthquake did not only create concern for Harvard students studying abroad, but also for loved ones and friends living in Chile.

Many students who previously spent time in Chile have contacted their host families and been relieved to find that they are unharmed, said Lisa Schechner ’11, who lived with a host family in Santiago last summer through one of the DRCLAS programs.

Students who had studied and worked abroad in Chile have been corresponding with each other about the disaster, according to Schechner.

She said that Harvard students were relieved to hear from Samuel H. Crihfield ’11, who spent last summer in Chile and is currently there to study. Though Crihfield is safe, he said he is trapped in the southern town of Pucón due to damaged roads and bridges.

People, roads, bridges, and houses have undergone destruction as a result of the earthquake—which occurred at a depth of 21.7 miles, whereas the recent earthquake in Haiti occurred at a depth of 8.1 miles.

Despite the ensuing distress, however, Schechner said that she believes the infrastructure in Chile was better prepared than Haiti for such a catastrophe.

“Personally, I hope that this will allow the country to bounce back from such a disaster,” Schechner said.

It remains unclear whether the earthquake will have a significant effect on Harvard’s future programs in Chile, according to Veronica R. Martini, the development and external relations officer for DRCLAS.

For now, the Harvard community sends its “deepest concern for this terrible tragedy,” Martini said.