Concepcion , Chile ( CNN ) -- We could n't have traveled farther to see the same thing . We were returning to the United States from Haiti -- where every turn continues to unveil another human tragedy even six weeks after the January 12 earthquake -- when we were redirected to Chile . An 8.8-magnitude quake had struck the area around Chile 's capital , a seismic event 800 times more powerful than the one in Haiti . Getting there was half the story . We took off from Miami , Florida , knowing the airport in Santiago was closed , so our aim was to get as close as we could . That set off a journey that would last 48 hours . We flew to Panama , Lima , Sao Paolo , Buenos Aires and Bariloche , then began a very long drive through the Patagonia region of Argentina , into Chile and north into the earthquake zone . We were followed by an enormous full moon and skimpy clouds that danced along the skyline . This region seems too lovely to be the scene of any tragedy . Its tall green mountains peaked with whitecaps and broad lakes give way to fields and sparkly beaches . South America had summer vacation until it was interrupted by this disaster . And it is , in a word , a disaster . Haiti , with its death toll and great suffering , sets the bar very high right now for what you can call a tragedy . But there is nothing inconsequential about hundreds of people dying , crushed in their own homes or swept away by a frantic sea . Chile has had very powerful earthquakes before and is a modern and wealthy place compared with Haiti . But as we drove up through Ozoro , Las Violetas , Los Angeles and other lovely farming towns , we saw chunks of roadway and roofs fallen away , fractured bridges , people camped in tents among their cows . Every Chilean we spoke to talked about how the previous earthquakes had pushed anyone with means to rebuild their homes or find new ones designed to withstand strong shaking . People here know what to do . But the sight of military convoys and ambulances told the story of what 8.8 can do . An ambulance driver in Los Angeles said there had been dozens of aftershocks , many powerful enough to add to the rising toll of injured and dead in towns without many large structures . They were overwhelmed and being dispatched to Concepcion , where a large population and tall structures meant more severe injuries . There , we found looting and people walking the streets in search of water and gas . The largest buildings were missing entire walls , and glass had shorn off the sides . A light cold drizzle was getting everyone wet . The vacation period means a lot of young people are out being mochileros ( backpackers ) and are separated from families by distance and downed phone lines . They have heard the stories of beach towns swept away and houses upended and are hitching rides at gas stations , hoping to find a way to reunite . The aftershocks are like a rising tide here , a clear sign that this is not over , that the damage is not done . The farm stands and cottages of the back roads are crooked and empty ; the city centers look abandoned and on the brink . This country is not crying out for international assistance in the way Haiti did . It was prepared and has coping resources . This is a place that sends rescue workers to other countries because they 're so good at it . Yet its natural beauty and efficiency are not enough to diminish what connects these folks to Haiti -- that the people waiting for buses beside the blackberry fields along Panamericana Ruta 5 are running scared .
The quake that shook Chile was 800 times more powerful than the one that shook Haiti . Chile 's infrastructure built to withstand quakes , but death and destruction inescapable . Chile : Dozens of earthquakes powerful enough to add to toll of injured and dead . Wealthier and more prepared than Haiti , Chile and its people still share in the fear .