Saturday, March 12, 2011

A quiet night

Valparaíso at night (photo from here)
Valparaíso was shut down last night due to tsunami warning.  All the ships left the harbor and a curfew was in effect for the Plano, the area near the water.  Our apartment is fairly high up the hill so we weren't at any risk.  We went for a walk around midnight, when the wave was due to arrive.  There was an erie quiet over this normally-bustling city -- no traffic, no ships, no one on the street, not even the dogs were barking.

The sea rose up to 3 meters in our region, and in some other regions of the country there was some minor flooding, but thankfully no casualties or major damage.
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2 comments:

  1. Uncle Dan RogersMarch 13, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    Could you people actually see a wave come into the harbor? It sounds like it would have been a marvelous surfing opportunity --- something that Auntie Caitlin would be apt to try. Curfew, shmurfew!

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  2. paulson roguesMarch 14, 2011 at 8:08 AM

    We're relieved to hear that the danger has passed. Has it? Are you in the clear?
    Hearing about Valparaiso at night (on the timing of the tsunami arrival) reminds me of the airless skies overhead here in the states after 911): an almost shocking reminder of how noisy/hyper our lives have become. Being new to Valparaiso, I'll bet that amazing moment of eerie quiet will seep into all of you guys' lasting feelings about your new city/home. People rarely get such moments of intimacy with a place.
    Really neat.

    Mark

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