Written by: Alexa Phillips
On Sept. 16, 2015, an 8.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Chilean Coast around 8 p.m.
Within minutes of the earthquake, a tsunami emerged and waves up to 15 feet high slammed the region of Coquimbo, a port city that is home to around 106,000 people.
The events caused massive devastation, leading to a loss of more than 9,000 individuals’ homes and leaving thousands without electricity.
The waves also tore apart infrastructure along the coast and had a large impact on fishers’ lives. Local fish markets were wiped out and boats and fishing supplies were destroyed.
Harry Gloria, a local fish merchant, experienced the destruction firsthand.
“…It had destroyed everything around here in Coquimbo, the whole coast was destroyed, the inlet of Coquimbo was all destroyed…all of the merchants rebuilt everything with their own money or by getting loans from the bank,” Gloria explained.
Gloria is no stranger to the waves. He has been working in the fishing industry for almost 50 years.
“You have to leave your things and just go to higher ground and let nature do what it has to do. And afterwards you just get up, like in a war. There are wars that destroy, and then you just get back up,” Gloria stated.
Only five years prior to this disaster, the fifth largest earthquake in history hit Chile, resulting in 525 deaths and the loss of 220,000 homes. 13 died in the Coquimbo tsunami. The death toll remained low due to a forced evacuation of over one million people across Chile.
There was also a better emergency response and coastal preparedness after the installation of a new system of warnings, including blaring sirens and mobile phone messages, to alert citizens to leave the coastal areas.
Gloria keeps a photo album at the fish market where he works, which contains dozens of photos revealing the damage and heartache experienced by many in Coquimbo.
The rebuilding process took almost three months for the fishers and merchants. Several fishing boats were swept up in the waves and strewn across the roads of Coquimbo.
“…The experience it leaves us with is that we have to leave material things aside and build better, and with more security, so that our concessions will be more secure and more effective on the whole coast,” Gloria said.
Despite the devastation and damage, there was almost no media coverage in the U.S. about the natural disaster. Gloria stated that it is easy for Western countries to turn a blind eye when these issues aren’t happening in their backyard.
“Those things aren’t important to many parts of the world. It’s only important to the people here,” Gloria said.
An outpouring of support from the people in Chile, who showed up in large numbers, helped to clean and rebuild the area. In the past year, the locals have rebuilt the bustling fish market where Gloria has spent most of his life working.
A larger fish market just a few blocks away is now under construction. Gloria will be moving shop within the next few years, but he’ll always remain close to the ocean, which he considers home.
