Sandy man, family stuck in Chile post-quake

SANDY — In brief dispatches from earthquake-devastated Santiago, Chile, sent at random over Facebook, Jason Allen relays his experiences.

"Just when u think it's going to stop shaking, it does, very scary feeling."

"Things are bad here, we were sleeping in the street in total darkness."

"Desperate to go home."

So this is what happens when stranded in a foreign country caught in crisis. You absorb the crisis. In an instant, its crisis becomes your crisis. Never mind that Allen, of Sandy, is employed by Delta Air Lines. When the airport is down, buses aren't operating, roadways are closed and aftershocks are rumbling underfoot at random. It doesn't matter who you are.

You're "just stuck," as Allen is. "Getting nervous every time it shakes."

Allen flew into Chile Thursday for an international music festival held annually in Vina Del Mar. He was there at the festival the night the earthquake hit, he told the Deseret News in an e-mail. He said he left the festival early because his brother-in-law, who was running lights for one of the artists, was finished. He was eating in his hotel when the earth gave way beneath him.

"All of a sudden the windows started exploding," he said. "We ran outside, and the earth was waving back and forth, power lines crackling, lights knocked out, and after that the thought that a wave could be coming absolutely scared everybody."

He said people ran from the hotel and they continued to feel "shocks all morning." He said there was no way to communicate for hours, and once they were able to get word, the news got worse before it got better.

"Finally, someone said that Santiago was the center and our kids were left with my father-in-law in Santiago, a very scary feeling," he said. "Luckily, my brother-in-law was able to get us to Santiago to be reunited with my kids."

He said the family, which was supposed to return home Sunday, went two days without water and electricity in the midst of aftershocks ranging from 5.0 to 6.5 in magnitude. Now, they're just waiting to come home.

"I've tried to leave Chile, but the roads are torn in places and the bus companies have not been working," he said. "I called Delta and they said maybe Friday I could fly out, but the problem is that the airport suffered lots of damage and there has been only two flights that have arrived and nothing leaving. They are talking about having flights arrive in the north, then fly in and bused to downtown Santiago and the same leaving, so, hopefully I can get home soon."

In the interim, as the ground continues to tremble beneath him, he's focusing on going to the supermarket, buying "provisions" and finding a way home. But he said it all in a missive to friends Saturday just after the quake hit.

"It's a disaster here."

e-mail: emorgan@desnews.com