After experiencing a major earthquake firsthand, Yuan Ziliu, a Spanish language sophomore at Southwest University of Science and Technology (SUST) in Mianyang, the epicenter of Sichuan earthquake, never thought he would live through the same experience again on the other side of the world.

Yuan, together with nine other SUST students, arrived in Concepcion, Chile on February 21 to participate in a yearlong Spanish language exchange program at the University of Chile Santa Cruz (UCSC).

Fascinated by Latin America and excited about living in a Spanish speaking country, Yuan and his classmates were enthusiastic about making the most out of their year abroad. However, their plans were shocked to the foundation a week later as Chile's central region was hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake on February 27, 3:34 am local time.

"I was woken up by strong shaking. I heard my roommates, Mary Hayes and her boyfriend, Concepcionnative Daniel, yelling to get out of the building. I got down the stairs only to find that the floor had warped and all cracked. I knew then what was happening," said Yuan.

"I experienced Wenchuan and know what an earthquake is like. The scene was so familiar I didn't feel very nervous or scared," he said.

Even though the magnitude of the Chilean earthquake was greater than Sichuan, the scene was quite different. Since the architecture in the area consisted of sturdily built small apartment buildings, the destruction appeared to be much less.

"When I got outside, I didn't see houses falling to pieces, but just things shaking all over the place," Yuan said.

Hayes, who is also a director of the UCSC exchange program, immediately had the group go check on the other students, who were safe in a nearby dormitory. Despite the downed network, Mary put through a longdistance call to SUST informing them the students were all safe.

"My classmates commented that we were so lucky to have lived through two huge earthquakes," Yuan said.

The aftermath

It was not until daybreak that Yuan clearly saw the destruction the quake had left. In about three minutes, the quake had reached a magnitude of 8.8, responsible for the deaths of over 700 citizens and causing billions of dollars in damage according to official reports.

"There was smoke everywhere and it felt like we were on the set of a war movie."

The three then decided to go to Daniel's home in the downtown area. Through the thick morning mist, Yuan saw collapsed houses and crowds gathered in a small public square not far from Daniel's home.

After checking if everyone was safe, Yuan set to getting some water from the local police station, as all the city's utilities were down.

"After waiting in line for five hours, the water supply ran out. I was so anxious and worried."

Fortunately, one of the volunteers there was so kind to offer me two large thermos bottles of water after seeing I had gotten nothing after waiting so long," Yuan said.

In the evening, Yuan, together with Mary, Daniel and his family, sat outside among many in the town, listening to the radio for any news as to the scope and damage the quake had caused.

Crime stoppers

After a sleepless night, Yuan awoke to even more turbulent news as reports of mass looting had broken out across the city.

Yuan, who was an aspiring journalist, rushed to the nearest shop to snap some photos.

"The moment I set foot in the shop and took out my camera, looters began throwing trash at me shouting not to take pictures, threatening to kill us if we did."

"I was scared off and didn't get anything," Yuan said.

On his way back home, Yuan saw the army had already been deployed in response to the looting. As the sky filled with smoke and gunshots echoed through the city, Yuan watched in shock as a supermarket burned while people looted what remained.

The chaos intensified through the night as looters began robbing homes. The residents in Yuan's area huddled together and quickly organized a neighborhood watch. Using white plastic bags as armbands to distinguish themselves from outsiders, the residents took shifts armed with bats and air horns to sound in case of prowlers.

Contact from home

In the following days, Yuan helped residents with clearing the quake damage and visited classmates. However, the biggest comfort came when Yuan finally contacted his family.

"My mobile hadn't worked since the earthquake. But I suddenly received a call from my mother who had been trying to get through for four days. She said she had known that I was fine through SUST and encouraged me to be brave and strong," Yuan said.

Wang Liangen, an officer from the Chinese Embassy along with other embassy representatives, also visited Yuan and his classmates at their school.

"They told us that many people were asking about us and brought us bottled water and instant noodles," Yuan said.

As the region is currently experiencing aftershocks, classes are still suspended. Although electricity, communication service have been restored, the students still lack running water.

"All I want is to take a shower and go back to class as soon as possible," Yuan said.

Currently, Yuan and his classmates are working as volunteers preparing box lunches for students whose dorms were damaged in the quake.

"After the Wenchuan earthquake, my parents worked as volunteers. And now I want to do something for those who need help."