Chilean in Iowa relieved to hear loved ones safe

Marcia Barrios found out about Saturday's earthquake in Chile the same way most Iowans did: the news.

But unlike her neighbors in Washington, Iowa, who were watching images of a land they'd never known, Barrios was looking at her homeland.

“My family is still in Santiago and my cousins live near the epicenter,” said Barrios, 35. “I have friends all around the country.”

Barrios tried reaching her friends and family on the phone, but land lines were down throughout the mountainous South American nation, and cellular service was barely available. So instead of waiting for the news to tell her what was happening, Barrios went online and signed in to her Facebook account.

“People were looking for family, trying desperately to find loved ones,” Barrios said after looking over the many posts on the social media site. “Power is down, there is little water ... but luckily everyone I know is OK.”

Barrios, who studied engineering in Chile, credits smart planning and meticulous problem solving by architects, planners and other engineers in her native country. They designed homes that could handle the stress of Saturday's 8.8 magnitude earthquake.

Even more, she credits her tech-savvy nation, one that is a test-market for many new innovations, for keeping her and her loved ones sane during a hectic moment.

“All the new technologies from Japan, the U.S. and Russia, they get tried out here,” Barrios said. “Almost everyone in Chile has a Facebook and Twitter account. It's fortunate to be able to rely on that.”