rumble rumble

I woke up this morning to a tsunami advisory for the California coast in my EDIS mailbox, and then email from one of my fellow volunteers worrying about the 8.8(!) earthquake in Chile and wondering if the Field Director was okay. (She's fine, busily trying to assess thing and figure out if any plans need to change.)

8.8, you say. That seems to put it at #7 ever.

President Bachelet says things are under control and they don't anticipate needing international aid. Unlike Haiti, Chile is a generally high-functioning country: building codes in the mid-90s mean that more modern buildings can handle a quake, low corruption means office buildings are not made out of duct tape and bubble gum, and a working government means they can get aid where it's needed. So while it's surely a mess (the Washington Post has some pictures), I don't think it will be the axe to the head that Haiti's was, and I suspect it won't affect the WorldTeach plans.