Safe!

I heard finally from the sister of my friend who lives in the VII Region. (The sister now lives in Germany.) The family down in the earthquake region has no power, but they are all alive and safe. I had a tranquil feeling about them yesterday, but seeing the destruction on the news--and their town under the big red destruction circle--was unsettling. So now I can breathe easy.

The Chileans have a huge amount of work ahead of them. But I'm impressed by the preparation they already had in place that they could immediately engage. I'm sure they'll need external help at some point. But the reports I've seen with the government telling everyone what they've decided to do and what's going on seem very calm and in control, considering the circumstances. It seems that while the situation is dire, the country is both physically and mentally prepared to deal with the challenge. Which to me is extremely impressive. Would that we were all so prepared for disasters!