AmeriCares Responds to Deadly Earthquake in El Salvador

AmeriCares Foundation
Monday, 15 January 2001

Disaster relief experts available for interviews from the scene

AmeriCares, the national and international humanitarian aid organization, announced today it is responding to the devastating earthquake in El Salvador with medical aid, tents and other emergency relief materials. The first airlift will depart tomorrow.

AmeriCares' disaster relief experts are already on the scene assessing the needs of the surviving victims, many of whom are in desperate need of medical attention. The latest estimates put the death toll over 400, with at least another 1,200 missing. El Salvador's President Francisco Flores said at a news conference that the death toll could go higher and that material damage was still incalculable. Temporary hospitals may be created to treat many of the wounded as some hospitals were severely damaged and are unable to care for all who need help.

The earthquake, which struck at 11:30 am local time on Saturday, had a magnitude of 7.6 at its epicenter, located about 65 miles (110 km) south-southwest of San Miguel, El Salvador.

Flores has declared a state of emergency in El Salvador, a nation of about 6.2 million people about the size of Massachusetts. More than 600 aftershocks have been felt throughout the area, making the rescue efforts even more tenuous. Tremors were felt from northern Panama to central Mexico, a distance of more than 1,100 miles (1,760 km).

For more information, or to contact AmeriCares Foundation, see their website at: www.americares.org