Chaiten, Chile

The Button given to me in Chaiten!
On the Main Street in Chaiten........not a soul around!
That sign says "Yield"..... yield for what? It's a ghost town!

Ash piled up like snow drifts!

Total destruction!

Dogs guard what is left!

Mon. Jan. 26, 2009

I don’t know where to begin with this story. Last May, the volcano that looms over the southern Chile town of Chaiten roared to life after some 7000 years of dormancy. The ensuing ash that fell from the volcano, mixed with the river that used to run around Chaiten, causing the river to change its course. The river, choked with ash, now took the path of least resistance and that was directly thru the center of Chaiten destroying everything in its path. Unfortunately, it didn’t just pass thru and continue on its way. The river brought with it tons and tons of ash and water, and after the water dried, it left tons and tons of volcanic mud everywhere. A minimum of two feet of mud, in the streets, in the houses, in the businesses, EVERYWHERE! In some places all you could see was the top of the houses sticking out of the mud. Even the local cemetery was covered.

You might say, the town is dead; but after being here for a day and seeing the devastation first hand, that up to now I had only witnessed from the safety of the Internet, and after speaking with many of the residents of Chaiten, it is obvious that the town is not dead. I rode around the parts of the town that are accessible, and witnessed town’s people with hand shovels, shoveling the ash from the streets. I likened it to trying to empty the ocean with a thimble, after seeing the enormity of the work that needs to be done here. I witnessed municipal workers maintaining the grass in the main streets in a town that is for all intents and purposes abandoned. I saw a few large machines grading the streets to remove the ash, or repairing damage caused by the force of the water that ran thru Chaiten. You might say Chaiten is dead after seeing it, but spend a little time here, and you will learn that the spirit of Chaiten is still here. Here in the few people who have bravely returned to claim what is left of what once was a very beautiful town surrounded by the high Andes Mountains, and a volcano that most residents didn't even realise existed, since it had been dormant for seven to nine thousand years.

I went into one of the two grocery stores that have reopened, and I spoke with the woman that owns the store. She explained how difficult life is now in Chaiten with no running water, no electricity, one Physician who bravely returned. She told of her husband and son that suffer from Asthma, in this town where everywhere you look there is volcanic dust in the air. She told me of how hard it is to live here always dependant on a generator, if you are lucky enough to have one. This is not a rich town, at least not monetarily. As I spoke to her, a man came in to the store to buy a piece of bread and a tomato, to make a sandwich right there on the spot. You see, with no electricity, you have no perishable food available. I tried to buy cheese, and couldn't because there is no way to refrigerate it.
After speaking with the store owner for quite a while, I said goodbye and walked out to my bike. As I went to get on the bike, the man that had been in to buy a tomato and a piece of bread so he wouldn’t go hungry, approached me and asked where I was from, I told him. He then unpinned a button from his "T" shirt and handed it to me. The button reads, “Chaiten, Entrada A La Patagonia”. Translated it reads “Chaiten, Gateway To The Patagonia”. He told me to keep it as a rememberance of Chaiten. It almost brought me to tears! This man, who by looking at him you could tell didn’t have much, was kind enough to give a perfect stranger, something to remember him and his beloved town by. I thanked him, from the bottom of my heart and I snapped a picture of him as he jumped into a pickup truck with a friend, and drove away. Everywhere I’ve traveled in Chile, the people have been so, so kind, but the people of Chaiten are something special. I hope that someone who reads this story, and sees the many images I’ve taken in Chaiten, I hope that if they can help, or if they know someone who has the capability to help rebuild the lives of the people of Chaiten, I ask that they please contact me.

It’s been almost a year, and the only help to the town of Chaiten has come from the people of Chaiten. Where is the Chilean Government? It’s not right to abandon a town and its people the way it has happened in Chaiten. “Chaiten, Zona Zero... Zero Luz, Zero Agua, Zero Apoyo. That’s what the makeshift sign in town read…"Chaiten, Gound Zero... Zero Light, Zero Water, Zero Support!"

UPDATE: The government of Chile has decided that it will no longer support the town of Chaiten because of the danger posed to the public by the nearby volcano. It stated that it will relocate the town farther north in one of two locations to be decided in the next few months.

UPDATE: On Thurday Feb. 19, 2009, Chilean Authorities once again evacuated Chaiten due to the threat posed once again by the volcano. See the latest post above.