Devastation in the form of an earthquake struck again Saturday, this time in central Chile.
With a magnitude of 8.8, the earthquake is said to be one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, and was responsible for a death toll of approximately 720, with many still missing amongst the wreckage, the National Emergency Office announced Monday.
The quake struck near the city of Concepcion, and then created a tsunami that struck Chile’s coast. The tsunami covered almost two miles of Robinson Crusoe Island into the town of San Juan Bautista.
Ellen Badger, director of International Student and Scholar Service, confirmed that there are currently no Binghamton University students on exchange programs, or studying abroad, in Chile.
Between fall 2005 and fall 2009, 23 students have studied in Chile, in addition to the group that was studying there this past fall.
According to Badger, H. Richard Naslund, a professor in the geological sciences and environmental studies department who is currently on sabbatical in Chile, has been contacted, and he and his family are fine.
The theater department has also been in contact with faculty at Duoc Universidad Catolica in Santiago, with which BU has a performance exchange program.
“Professor [Thomas] Kremer, [a professor in the theater department], spoke with Professor Rodrigo Nunez, [a past visiting assistant professor in the theater department], and he and his family are safe in Santiago,” Badger said.
According to Badger, there are currently seven students from Chile studying at BU.
This earthquake came only six weeks after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti on Jan. 12.
The Navy did not immediately declare a tsunami warning for Chile after the earthquake struck, but port captains of several coastal towns, including in Hawaii and other Pacific Islands, did.
Hundreds of thousands of people evacuated the shorelines of 53 nations and territories on the Pacific coasts that were warned of a tsunami.
The tsunamis never struck, though, and little damage was caused by the 5-foot waves to Hawaii’s coast, as well as the 4-foot surge that hit the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan.
On Monday, the United Nations said they would rush aid deliveries to Chile after President Michelle Bachelet appealed for international aid.
— Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.