Signing off from Chile

This is our last report as we pack up and head for home.

We were not able to attend the reconstruction of the daycare center in Talca this past weekend. All the participants were being housed with family and relatives. However from viewing the photos, we certainly were not equipped as the mud and rain necessitated rubber boots and rain gear. The construction went well despite the weather and the children will soon be able to use this facility. Another team worked in Dichato to construct a small house for a displaced family. Excellent work on both sites.

We tidied up our files for the next CAT Team members to continue working on. It was difficult to bid farewell to all the RSA co-workers and consulting folks that we have come to know, both expats and Chilean. Everyone has been wonderful to us and made us feel at home here. We sincerely hope that our contribution has made a difference for those that we insure here.

The Chilean people have endured a lot of hardship in their history, always bouncing back and we know they will this time as well. What we most wish is that they never have to experience another 8.8 quake in their lifetime.

We carry home images of toppled high rises, empty spaces where commerce once thrived, and fishing boats parked high and dry one kilometer inland.

We wish to extend a sincere 'thank you' to the management and staff of RSA Chile. We struggled with Spanish, taught them some English, shared laughs, cheered on their Soccer team on the World Cup and thoroughly enjoyed the vistas of the country.

This is a wonderfully diverse place from the snowy Andes to the plains and valleys dotted with palm trees and cactus, the quaint villages along the coast and the big cities.

We are proud to have done our part to help out.

Thanks to everyone
Mike, Linda and Carolyn

New Digs

As promised, our move to the 2nd Floor took place over the past weekend. The CAT team has a new home. It is spacious, airy, bright, and has proper cubicles for everyone. We are now all in one area, all 50 of us.
Work is progressing at a steady pace. Everyone has their own files to handle and adjusters to contact. Our “roadies” from the U.K. co-ordinate visits to sites with the adjuster assigned to the case and they are kept very busy.

The Sol claims system we use is very efficient and as Green as can be. The adjuster simply downloads the report to Sol and notifies us via email that it has been done. We then go into the claim and the report, including photos and inspection are automatically attached for our perusal. No printing required. Every bit of information is at our fingertips. And with over 3300 claims to manage, we are saving a lot of trees.

Rebuilding is going on, however in some cases it moves at a slow pace. Railway bridges need to be reconstructed over gorges, canals bringing water to the hydro-electric stations repaired, and vital water supplies restored. Nothing is back to 100% production yet but as each day passes, progress is being made. With over 1.5 million homes damaged or destroyed, there are still many displaced Chileans, and winter is setting in.

I was not fully aware of the power that an earthquake can generate, but I am learning fast. In Concepcion, which was near the epicenter, the entire city moved 10 feet to the west. The shift of massive amounts of rock also produced a shift in the Earths axis, enough to create a shorter day worldwide. Mind you it’s a negligible amount, 1.26 microseconds, and we would never notice it, however it is a documented change verified by NASA.

Scientists and engineers from all over the world have converged here to study the effects of the ´quake. Chile has had very strict building codes in place since 1950 due to their history of seismic activity. That is why the majority of high rise buildings, both commercial and residential did not collapse. Nature is amazing and frightening !

Adios por ahora,
Carolyn