Commentary
Inside South America - McClatchy Newspapers
Chaiten, Chile, post-eruption
Posted by Jack Chang
Tue Jun 24, 11:41 AM ET
Chaitén in 2007. Photo/betoscopio
It's been nearly two months since the Chaitén Volcano in southern Chile began erupting, and it's still spewing ash miles into the sky.
The town of Chaitén at the base of the volcano remains abandoned, and projections for its revival are growing grimmer.
Government officials say it'll take at least two years to rebuild the town of about 4,000 people, which was the main jumping-off point for the nearby Pumalin Park created by U.S. environmentalist Douglas Tompkins.
About a third of the town's houses have already been wiped out by floods after rivers choked with ash overran their banks. Attempts to save the rest of the town are under way, but scientists say the area may be uninhabitable for years to come, as the thick layer of ash that's settled over the town turns soils unfertile.
That hasn't stopped some progress from being made, however. Authorities have allowed people living farther than nine miles from the volcano to return to their homes and clean up. Blocked bridges and waterways are being cleared.
Yet geologists estimate the volcano, after spending the past 9,000 years dormant, could be active for years to come.
I visited Chaitén in March 2006, and remember cruising its quiet, chilly streets, buying bread and beverages in chilly, dark markets for my trek into Pumalin. I slept in a humble inn where the walls were just wooden boards and a wood stove in the hallway kept guests warm.
The street beside the water almost had a boardwalk-like charm to it, lined as it was with hostels and restaurants catering to tourists. I was there during the end of the tourist season, however, so the street was largely empty.
Even then, the town already felt like it was on the edge of civilization and could easily be taken over by nature. Well, at least for now, it seems like it's happened. I imagine those streets and hotels I had frequented now empty, falling apart, under the giant plume of ash that may be a fixture of the town for years to come.
