(Traveling with Arturo Millan, student at Santa Maria University)
Day 2:
We visited four bridges along the Vespucio Norte tollway north of the airport; two had collapsed and two were in service. Those that collapsed were being demolished very quickly (I guess they will be gone in a day or two). Insufficient seating is the probable main cause. The four bridges were very similar interchanges (see Figure 2); lateral supports for girders were highly deformed in the two bridges that survived (Figure 3) and failed in the bridges that collapsed.
Lots of damage to bridges over the main North-South highway about 80 Kms south of Santiago. Four or five complete or partial collapses (Figure 1); note that metal pipes were originally vertical.
Visited Villa Silva Winery in Petequen – most of the old adobe buildings were heavily damaged and partial roof collapses occurred; howver all equipment performed well and is operational.
Attempted to enter sulphur storage facility where outside masonry walls and some light steel truss frames had collapsed; we were turned away because they will only let insurance people in.
Visited Bio-Bio cement factory; got a very detailed tour. Plant operating at half capacity until they can check everything else; some interesting local and global buckling failures at the top of tall steel braced frames, shear cracks in a large cement storage silo, and
Attempted to enter Agrozzi food factory where large stacks of food containers had toppled over.
Very large number (between 30 and 50) large food processing companies along the roadside; very little external signs of damage – most look like typical light metal industrial structures. Most appear to be operating normally but damage to equipment is unknown. Most large silos appeared intact.
Visited large pet food factory in Sagrada Familia; a couple of large older silos had collapsed but plant was working normally.
Drove down to Talca – older city center very heavily damaged (probably 10 to 12 city blocks are a total loss) – many adobe and unreinforced masonry building collapsed here – very eerie to see this at night as there were no street lights.
Day 3:
Up early to drive from Talca to Constitucion, at the mouth of the river Maule; probably the largest city close to the earthquake (pop. about 50,000); road was fine and little evidence on the road or immediate vicinity of the effects of the earthquake. This region depends on forestry, with lots of wood mills.
Most of the newer part of Constitucion, erected along the slopes, appears relatively undamaged – this includes 4 and 5 story concrete residential buildings.
Older part of Constitucion, around the main square is a total loss, just as in Talca. Some older RC building survived basically unscathed (as far as we could tell).
Area near the mouth of the Maule river, known as La Poza and where lots of river fishermen lived, was wiped out by tsunami. Damage is hard to describe except to say that it is nothing I have seen before. Anectdotally, three main waves hit; the first being more a gradual rise but the second and third much stronger. Reinforced concrete structures seemed to have resisted the waves well. However, two to three blocks from the river were completely wiped out (Picture#556). Water reached well into the city – probably six to seven blocks, almost to the main square.
Amazing that at this point the total casualty number at Constitucion is only 96.
Visited very large pulp processing plant right on the water; largest employer in town by far. They claim no structural damage but the water damage due to tsunami will take many months to repair.
Drive back to Santiago; stopped at La Fortuna Winery – extensive damage to empty large tanks due to local buckling at bottom. Most wine caskets were stored on the ground and few were damaged. Large wood ceiling partially collapsed in main production area.
Visited bridge at Hospital on alternate south route out of Santiago. It was fast being demolished; hard to tell anything except that south bound lanes, with straight supports was undamaged, but northbound lane with large skew at the abutment came down. Not much let of any major collapsed bridges (including the Rio Claro one, an older masonry/RC arch bridge near Talca).
