(Providence, Rhode Island)

I woke up in a panic today, when I learned there was an 8.8 earthquake in Chile. My eldest niece, Erin, is working as an English teacher there, and my sister Tierney, Erin's aunt, is there for a visit.

They were shaken up, but are otherwise okay. The quake hit about 3:30 in the morning Santiago time. It is at such a time as this when I am thankful for the massive explosion in technology. There has been a volley of emails all day long between my six brothers and sisters and numerous other friends and relatives.

Thanks to Skype, Tierney, Erin and I had a nice video conference call about noon today, Eastern time. I took the above photo from our Skype call.

Here is a copy of an email from my niece Erin, sent about 1:30 p.m Eastern Time:

"Hi all,

"As I'm sure many of you are aware, we had a massive earthquake in Chile last night. I've received numerous e-mails and messages from everyone and I wanted to let you know that I am doing just fine.

"I was with my roommate, Christian, and my Aunt Tierney at the time. Had no idea what was going on...thank god I was with Christian who knew exactly what to do and thank god Tierney is down here so that I have a little comfort from home. It was pretty scary!

"Luckily there was only minor damage in my neighborhood and apartment. The most important thing is that everyone is safe! Tierney was supposed to fly out of Santiago tonight, but with the aftermath of the earthquake the airport is shut down and her flight has been canceled.

"So, lucky for me, she is going to hang around a few more days til she can find her way back to the States...and to some more stable terrain. I will be sure to keep everyone updated! I really appreciate all the concern!

Lots of love,

Erin"

The world is a smaller place because of instantaneous communication like this, and I am glad to learn my loved ones are okay. But let's all remember the power of prayer, too! There are sure to be many casualties and people trapped, as we saw in Haiti. There are also going to be large humanitarian aid efforts; so let's all help where we can.

We'll have more on the earthquake in Chile tonight on ABC 6 News at 6 and 11 p.m.