Where was God at the start?

People rightly praise God for the Chilean mine rescue which must have drawn the greatest volume of world prayer of anything in recent history.
The cold and the cynical bleat "But. Where was God when it first happened?"

Didn't I just explain? - The prayer began LATER! Perhaps if there was sustained prayer into all human functions - the levels of disasters would rapidly decrease.
HOW can God be blamed for an incident in which nobody had bothered to involve Him?