wfn.org | Disaster Assistance helping Salvadoran quake victims

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Note #6333 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

16-January-2001
01014

Disaster Assistance helping Salvadoran quake victims

Temblor killed at least 380 people; more than 1,000 are reported missing

by John Filiatreau

LOUISVILLE--- Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has already sent
emergency funds from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering to the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s partner church in El Salvador -- the Reformed
Calvinist Church of El Salvador -- in the wake of a Jan. 13 earthquake that
killed at least 600 people, left another 1,200 missing, injured hundreds
more and rendered about 75,000 people homeless.

The initial PDA funds will help the Salvadoran partner church buy needed
supplies to support their churches, which have been opened as shelters and
treatment centers. The money will be used to purchase blankets, plastic
sheeting, food and water and other necessities.

PDA is a member of the Geneva-based global relief network Action by Churches
International (ACT), which has sent $50,000 to its El Salvador affiliate.
Another ACT member, Dan Church Aid of Denmark, has sent two field experts to
help the ACT-El Salvador coordinating committee. David Barnhart from
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Chris Herlinger from Church World
Service, the relief arm of the National Council of Churches, are leaving
Jan. 17 for El Salvador to document the relief effort. As their information
becomes available, it will be posted to the PC(USA) Web site
(www.pcusa.org/pda/).

ACT  members in El Salvador have dispatched emergency teams to the affected
areas. Members in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua are on alert and ready
to mobilize emergency teams to support their Salvadoran counterparts. Cuba
has announced that a group of 459 physicians now working in Guatemala is
ready to travel to El Salvador.

PDA also will assist by preparing and sending medical-supply packages
designed to meet immediate medical needs.

The quake's epicenter was about 65 miles southeast of San Salvador. Tremors
from the quake and hundreds of aftershocks were felt in the neighboring
countries of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Mexico. Powerful
aftershocks continued to shake El Salvador days after the quake.

Rudelmar de Bueno di Fario, a representative of the Lutheran World
Federation in El Salvador, said additional quakes on Jan. 15 flattened many
houses damaged by earlier temblors.  For example, he said, the rural village
of San Augustin "does not exist ... anymore." Reports from El Salvador said
nearly 11,000 homes have been totally destroyed.

The Salvadoran government has decreed a state of national emergency and
closed the international airport while damages were being assessed. The
Salvadoran army is trying to provide drinking water and food to residents of
many rural areas that can only be reached by  helicopter. Rescue teams have
had to make treks of four hours or more to many affected communities.

Mayor Oscar Ortiz of Santa Tecla has ordered collective burials of the 450
confirmed dead there. Ironically, Santa Tecla was founded in 1854 as a new
capital safely outside the country's so-called "earthquake zone."

Financial contributions are always needed in disaster situations, and a
special designated account has been established for those wishing to provide
financial aid for Salvadoran earthquake survivors. Checks should be marked
clearly with the account number for Salvadoran quake relief -- PDA
#9-2000140. They can be made through normal church channels or mailed to
PDA, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202. The church also has a
secure Web site for credit-card donations. Call PresbyTel at 1-800-872-3283
for more information about how to make contributions.

PDA coordinator Susan Ryan said PC(USA) members should not send clothing to
the area because it takes up warehouse space that might be better used. She
said people also should refrain from sending medicines and other supplies
directly to the affected areas. Supplies appropriate to the specific
situation and requested by the partner agency will be packed up and shipped
as needed. Also, Ryan said, if volunteers are needed to go to El Salvador
further information will be forthcoming as needs are assessed.

The relief effort in El Salvador has been truly international. A rescue
brigade of 27 search-and-rescue specialists from Taiwan arrived today. Other
groups of experts or aid packages have come from Mexico, Guatemala, Holland,
Germany, Italy, France Spain, Venezuela, Ecuador Brazil, Panama, Colombia,
Japan, Canada and the United States.

Responses and offers of help may also be directed to the Web site; for an
answer to a specific question, direct your response by email to
Pamelab@ctr.pcusa.org.

(Some information for this story was furnished by Susan Ryan, PDA
coordinator.)

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