Elgin pastor warns of 'major tragedy' as the cold comes to Chile

An Elgin pastor who was visiting relatives in Chile when last weekend's earthquake hit says people are banding together to help and feed each other, but the greatest need in coming months will be shelter.

In the upside-down world of life in the Southern Hemisphere, winter is approaching.

"A major tragedy is coming," warned Henoch Fuentes, 49, an Elgin resident and pastor of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Elgin in a telephone interview. "Summer is finished. The weather is getting cold. How can we build houses and bring houses from the United States to here?"

An estimated 2 million people are homeless since the 8.8-magnitude quake toppled buildings, buckled roads and unleashed tsunami waves early Saturday. Roughly 800 people are dead. A pair of aftershocks - a 6.3 magnitude quake Thursday and a 6.6 quake on Friday - have only made matters worse.

Fuentes grew up in Chile and immigrated to the Chicago area in 1985 to attend seminary school. A former chaplain of the DuPage County jail in Wheaton, he has lived in Elgin since 1991.

He was visiting his sister, Ana Marie Fuentes, who is pastor of an Evangelical church in Rancagua, a city about three hours from the quake's epicenter, when the earthquake hit last Saturday.

He said there is a large military presence to keep order, but all of the aid has been focused on cities like Santiago.

In Rancagua, electricity and running water were restored Wednesday; folks in town have been cooking large meals and giving food to neighbors.

Fuentes said people started bringing their beds and blankets to sleep in the church after the big quake hit. Most people, even though they have no home or job, are thankful for their health and that their families are OK.

Fuentes and others have been receiving and distributing items such as rice, vegetables, oil, tea, milk, diapers and oral hygiene products.

"The support has come from the community," Fuentes said.

Still, the aftershocks have kept people on edge.

"Everybody is awake all the time," Fuentes said. "There is so much distress. You cannot even picture it. The biggest hospital has closed. The people were sent home, but there is no home to go (to)."

While relief efforts have been focused on Haiti, which has more than 200,000 dead from its earthquake, deaths in Chile have not been as widespread.

Fuentes said about 60 people in Rancagua were killed and others are missing.

Fuentes is offering spiritual support, praying with the people, giving long hugs and telling them, "I'm here with you."

Fuentes hopes to return to Elgin March 12 or 13, which was his original return date.