Chile Antofagasta Mission President confirms: “All the missionaries are alright.” 

Para leer este artículo en español:
http://www.elfaromormon.org/todos-los-misioneros-estan-bien-dice-presidente-de-mision-antofagasta/

Translation by Camila Vargas

SANTIAGO, Chile – President Craig L. Dalton, from the Chile Antofagasta Mission, informed that “everything is fine on the mission. The missionaries are safe and sound, they are all alright, they had a good night of sleep and most of them are returning already to their areas.”

It is important to recall the fact that the northern part of the Antofagasta Mission, which includes the Regions of Arica Parinacota and Tarapacá, was decreed a disaster area.

President Dalton confirmed the information given by El Faro Mormón in the early morning and specified that the earthquake didn’t hurt any missionary, and that actually, there weren’t any problems.

Regarding the tsunami warning, all the missionaries serving in the coastal area were evacuated at the appropriate time to the safety zones above the flood levels along with the rest of the population. It is expected that the local members and the missionaries will offer their help to the community if necessary.

The president explained that many missionaries will return to proselytize as usual, while others are now resting in their homes due to the night they had to spend at the chapel. He emphasized that “the missionaries know how to react in case of an emergency” and that at the moment, he is waiting for a reports to know for sure the apartments’ condition.

In addition, it has been informed that none of the Church buildings has been damaged and that fortunately, there is no register of any member who had passed away. In spite of this, and according to the twitter account of the Public Affairs Department (@MormonChile), the Emergency Committee is meeting, for what it is believed that they will soon evaluate how to properly come to the aid of the affected areas.

Let’s detail that this earthquake in the north of Chile (8,2 on the Richter scale) was 15 times minor in terms of magnitude in comparison with the one occurred four years ago, on February the 27th, in Concepción; occasion in which the missionaries were also safe.

The Chilean Government has updated the number of deceased, number that amounts to 6 people, 3 due to heart attacks, 2 were crushed and the last one due to a fall. The latest official information was that there were only 3 seriously injured individuals, but this number is likely to rise in the next couple of hours.

Right after the tsunami warning, around 900 thousand people evacuated the coastal zones throughout the country. At this point, that warning is no longer valid and was cancelled a few hours after the quake.

Following the seism, the basic supplies (such as water and electricity) have been cut off, but in some sectors these services are still working just like the telecommunications and transport system.