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Harrowing experience

"You can attribute it to either a guardian angel or good luck - either way I'm incredibly happy that I survived with my life." Erik Nordling, a member of the Board of Directors of the local company in the country, was on his way to a board meeting in Venezuela. Instead of a couple days of routine meetings, he went through the worst he has ever experienced.

February 3, 2000 [Published in Contact]

Erik was met at the airport by Hermes Cabrera, Ericsson's chauffeur. Hermes explained that the tunnels through the mountain from the airport to central Caracas were filled with water and that there was a risk of falling rock. He suggested that they spend the night at his house, which was nearby. "We managed to make our way to his house," explains Erik. At three-thirty in the morning, Hermes woke Erik. From the balcony of the little apartment, it was possible to discern how the hillsides farther up the mountain had started to give way. Brown water was flowing around the building. "Cars, a sofa, entire households, were floating by in the water and the main floor of the building was flooded with water. There was nothing we could do but cross our fingers," explains Erik.
Cut off from outside world They lost electricity and water along with fixed telephone service. Nevertheless, the mobile network continued to operate and Erik was able to use the remaining charge in his mobile phone battery to call home and to Olle Ulvenholm, head of Ericsson in Venezuela. After that, they were cut off from the outside world. They waited the entire next day before venturing out the following day, returning to the airport.
"It was then that I first realized things were much more serious than I could have possibly imagined. Roads, bridges, even entire blocks had disappeared. We slogged through the mud, walked on top of cars with only their radio antennas sticking out of the mud."
The airport was in the process of being converted into a command center to coordinate the rescue work. From there, Erik managed to make his way into downtown Caracas, which was largely spared from the flooding. A few days later he was able to leave Venezuela. Solidarity and warmth "It was an incredible relief to get out of there. At the same time, my heart goes out to all those who were affected, and of course you feel bad about leaving the country. But the board came to the conclusion that the best thing we, as foreigners, could do for our friends in Venezuela was to place as little a burden as possible on the scarce resources, and to instead try and spread information about what had happened."
"The strongest, most lasting impressions I have are probably not of the actual devastation, but of all the outpouring of warmth and solidarity that was generated. People pulled together and shared what little they had, helping strangers such as myself, but especially those who had fared poorly. Hermes Cabrera, and all the other people who helped deserve all the honor," says Erik Nordling.

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