The Warnes in the Chile Rancagua Mission: Earthquake report

I’m sure all of you heard about the earthquake here in Chile; it was pretty big news because of the strength. President sent out an email to parents as soon as we knew all of our missionaries were safe and accounted for. It was definitely the strongest we have felt in over two years of living in Chile. President was in Buin—45 minutes north, doing an interview and I was at home working on the last batch of flags we gave out during interviews.

A________ always tells me that the mission home is one of the safest anywhere because of the concrete construction. We always joke that it’s great for earthquake safety but terrible for internet purposes. However, I have to admit I was very nervous when the walls and floors started shaking. A senior couple, who live on the 11^th floor of an apartment building, felt their building swaying back and forth—very unsettling. President Warne stood in a doorway, which was quick thinking, and headed for home right after it ended.

We have two towns right on the coast, Pichilemu and Constitución, so when the tsunami warning and accompanying evacuation order went out, we were very concerned about those missionaries and their safety. Unfortunately, our service provider had a break in service for a couple of hours. Fortunately, all of the missionaries did exactly what they were supposed to and headed for their apartments no matter where they were; their apartments are all safely away from the tsunami danger zone.

That area of Chile has had many aftershocks, even one last Friday night, and we are praying that no further damage is being done and the people there have started recovering. We are grateful that Chile as a whole is as prepared as possible for these strong quakes, and also hopeful that this one will be the strongest we face. We are happy to have the technology that allowed us to make sure the missionaries were ok and then let parents know. We were also able to send word to the Missionary Department when we had accounted for everyone. It is a good opportunity for us to review our emergency plan and encourage the missionaries (again) to make sure their emergency backpacks are ready.