AmeriCares Rushes Aid to Earthquake Survivors in El Salvador

AmeriCares Foundation
Wednesday, 17 January 2001

Desperately needed medicines & emergency disaster supplies departing from Miami today, Wednesday, January 17, 2001.

AmeriCares, the international and domestic disaster relief organization, announced that a cargo plane will depart today, Wednesday, January 17, at 1:00pm from the Miami, Florida airport arriving in San Salvador, El Salvador at approximately 3:00pm. The humanitarian cargo will consist of over 40,000 pounds of antibiotics, analgesics, nutritional supplements, tents, blankets, towels, new clothing, rice, and other essential emergency medicines for the victims of the earthquake and mudslides in El Salvador.

AmeriCares disaster relief experts are working with local agencies in El Salvador distributing the emergency supplies to makeshift hospitals, shelters, clinics and other medical facilities that are serving the afflicted population. The 7.6 magnitude quake has left more than 675 dead, with at least 500 more counted as missing on Tuesday. The quake, measured at a magnitude of 7.6, was centered off the Salvadoran coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado. El Salvador was by far the hardest hit though the quake was felt for a distance of more than 1,100 miles.

"AmeriCares will provide the victims in El Salvador with the medical attention and support system they desperately need," said Bob Macauley, Founder and Chairman of AmeriCares. "AmeriCares has worked in El Salvador since the 1980's with various projects that assist the poor by improving their healthcare conditions, and we remain committed to aiding the people of this region."

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