Barry Keller is a hydrogeophysicst who has a home in Pichilemu, a beach town in central Chile known as a surfer’s paradise.
He shares this FirstPerson report:
We were at home during the quake at 3:34 a.m. local time. There were very strong motions for about a minute. Our house in Pichilemu is a four-story (counting the roof deck) structure of poured concrete and blocks, with lots of rebar, anchored by meter cube concrete blocks into the bedrock. It is strong! Being tall, the house DOES move – a natural analog seismometer.
The night of the quake, 3:34 a.m. local time, was clear and calm. The bright full moon may have helped evacuations. We live on a hill and the roundabout below our driveway was filled with 20 to 30 cars within minutes. We quickly had a lot of company. At the next hill over, the one authorities told people to evacuate to, there were about 300 cars. By the next night, people were camping in both spots.
Our home’s window latches rattled with every aftershock but the damage was definitely minimal compared to what was suffered about
100 kilometers southeast.
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