Lethbridge women vacationing in Chile safe and sound

Carly McNaughton and Jaelyn Ford were hundreds of miles away when the 8.2 magnitude quake struck off the coast of northern Chile late Tuesday. The two women are from Lethbridge and are both safe, but they say it’s an experience they won’t soon forget.

The two are vacationing in a town called Castro and were forced to take higher ground after tsunami warnings were issued. Global News was able to speak to her in Chile over the phone.

“We got a knock on our door and said the navy recommends we go to higher ground..the water was suppose to peak at midnight. So we took our stuff and had a bottle of wine and went back to the hotel.”

Carly’s father who is leaving for Chile tomorrow on business tried to hold back tears after hearing of the powerful earthquake.

“You are very concerned . It’s your family. People can die. The reaction is are people safe?”says Brian McNaughton.

The McNaughton’s have close ties to Chile and operate a hybrid canola seed company that employs about 20 locals. The entire family has travelled there several times and Carly’s twin brother Kevin was in the middle of an earthquake that struck in 2010.

“It was more different than I ever expected it to be. I expected it would be predictable and you could ride it out. It was very random and changing all the time. It was the scariest thing ever.”
Brian McNaughton says he knows how prevalent earthquakes are in the country and always has a detailed escape plan when he visits.

“You become very aware and you always are aware of an exit strategy from a building and you are looking for an escape route and when you enter a building you know how to get out of it.”