10:22am Monday 8th March 2010
By Jon Reeve
HER university was partially destroyed, her family feared she was dead and she was left desperately worried unable to contact friends.
Yet a Hampshire student caught up in the devastation of the Chile earthquake has vowed to stay on in the country – to help the relief effort.
Vicki Robinson, 21, is even making her way towards the epicentre of the quake – which measured 8.8 on the Richter Scale and killed more than 200 people – returning to the city she has called home since September.
The University of Southampton languages student was travelling around the country during a summer break when the tremors struck, meaning she was hundreds of miles north of the base for her year abroad, in Concepcion.
Initially she had no idea of the devastation the quake had caused in her home city because communication was so badly damaged.
The chemistry building exploded at the university where she has been working as a translator and studying literature and humanities, while many other buildings have been reduced to rubble and there is still no electricity or running water.
Vicki told the Daily Echo: “I realised when I spoke to my family, who were panicking, that the situation was a lot worse in the south than I had imagined.
“My nan was distraught because she thought she had seen me on the news on a stretcher.”
“Once we realised the magnitude of the disaster, we were immediately trying to contact our family and friends down there.”
Vicki has managed to make contact with two fellow University of Southampton students spending the year in Chile, one is in Concepcion while the other is in Santiago – both are safe.
“I was worried because they live on about the 20th floor of a tower block,” she said.
Hitching lifts on trucks and buses, Vicki has made her way to her boyfriend’s home town of Collipulli, where she is looking to do what she can before heading the final 100 miles back to Concepcion once the army declares it safe.
“We wanted to get back, hearing that friends had lost their houses and all their belongings, and feeling for all the people that are in this awful situation,” said Vicki, who comes from Essex.
“On our way down here, we passed fallen down houses, bridges and broken roads, but the most shocking thing is to see the people in tents living on the side of the roads.
“I am itching to start with the relief and reconstruction of Chile, especially in the areas that I know.
“Chile is a beautiful country and I have fallen in love with the life I lead and people here. There are many friends that have been affected in the disaster and I also feel like this is my home, for now.”
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