Moontown

Honolulu

The people of Chile are in fear and are panicking since a massive earthquake of magnitude 8.8 on the Richter scale hit the country, says Chilean resident Mina Pugno.

Pugno, who is in Santiago, Chile, spoke to her daughter, Sandra Nanton, who lives in Santa Cruz, through Skype and recalled the moments she experienced when the earthquake occurred.

Pugno also responded to questions posed to her by TV6.

’You are never prepared for this. It was very scary,’ she said.

Pugno said fortunately, the night before the earthquake, she received an e-mail on what a person should do in the event of an earthquake.

She said the e-mail stated that a person must go out in the street and lie in a foetal position. However, she had to take into consideration her mother, who is in her 80s, so she drove the car into the street, where they stayed till the shaking stopped and eventually slept in till the morning.

Pugno said the people of Chile were panicking, with many rushing to buy food and water because they do not know what will happen next.

She said order is being maintained as there was a heavy police presence on the streets.

Pugno, through her computer’s webcam, was able to show the cracks on her walls as well and broken sculptures. She said for an earthquake of that magnitude there was minimal damage because the buildings were built to withstand disaster.

Nanton said she received a telephone call from her stepmother in Venezuela at 7 a.m., informing her of the earthquake.

’When I turned on the television to CNN and saw it was an 8.8, I started to cry. I was very scared,’ she said.

Nanton said the fear grew when she tried calling her mother and other family members in vain.

Eventually, she said, she was able to connect with her mother on Skype and felt a sense of relief to know her family was in no grave danger.

’My sister told me this was six times worse than Haiti… I get worried for Trinidad because I know we are not prepared. We’re not and it’s scary,’ she said.