AmeriCares Response to Devastating Earthquake in India

AmeriCares Foundation
Friday, 19 January 2001

Situation: It is feared that as many as 30,000 people may have died following the earthquake which struck western India on Friday, January 26, which was felt as far away as neighboring Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. The quake - measured at 7.7 on the Richter scale by the US Geological Survey - was the region's most intense in half a century, the Indian Meteorological Department said. There have been an estimated 200 aftershocks - including one measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale - since the main earthquake. Damage is estimated at up to $5.5 billion. Tents and shelter rank among the greatest needs for India's quake-hit region, along with earthmovers and medical assistance. It was the world's second major quake of the year. On January 13, a quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale killed at least 700 people in El Salvador and made 10 percent of that country's population homeless.

Response: Days after the earthquake hit India, AmeriCares delivered 75,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies consisting of tents, blankets, plastic sheeting, face masks, essential drugs and medical supplies, casting and orthopedic materials, disinfectants, water purification tablets and generators as well as nutritional supplements. A team of medical doctors also accompanied the airlift to help and perform a medical assessment. Additional shipments containing approximately 45,000 pounds of relief supplies have been sent and others are scheduled for the future.

The additional relief efforts will focus more specifically on long-term medical requirements. AmeriCares has distributed and constructed 2,100 tents throughout Gujarat state, with capacity sufficient to house 16,800 homeless individuals. AmeriCares' humanitarian support in Gujarat, and throughout India, will be on-going. This assistance will continue next week when AmeriCares sends an Indian-American orthopedic surgical team from Massachusetts General Hospital to Ahmedabad where they will assist in and perform various procedures stemming from the devastating earthquake. Donors of orthopedic surgical appliances will supply the necessary materials needed for each operation.

Earthquakes can cause high mortality resulting from trauma, asphyxia, dust inhalation (acute respiratory distress), or exposure to the environment i.e. hypothermia. Surgical needs are important the first weeks. The broad pattern of injury is likely to be a mass of injured with minor cuts and bruises, a smaller group suffering from simple fractures, and a minority with serious multiple fractures or internal injuries and crush syndrome, requiring surgery and other intensive treatment. Indirect damage to health facilities can lead to an interruption in basic health care services.

AmeriCares has been active in India since 1982 and has provided critical relief to victims of floods, cyclones, earthquakes and other humanitarian emergencies, as well as providing on-going medical assistance to numerous hospitals and clinics. AmeriCares has worked with several partners in many regions including the Missionaries of Charity throughout India, the Hemophilia Federation in Delhi, the Bishop of Alleppey in Kerala, the Lions Club in Orissa, and the exiled Tibetan Administration of the Dalai Lama, based in Dharamsala.

Credentials: AmeriCares is an I.R.S. registered 501(C) (3) tax-exempt organization, registered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (License #A0275), and is a licensed drug wholesaler. We are also a licensed DEA Exporter (License #RA0178170). AmeriCares is a founding member of the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD), an alliance of relief agencies and healthcare firms dedicated to advancing quality medical product donations worldwide. AmeriCares is a member of InterAction and the National Wholesale Druggists Association. AmeriCares solicits donations of medicines, medical supplies, and other relief materials from manufacturers, and delivers them quickly and reliably to indigenous health and welfare professionals in 137 countries around the world. Financial contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations are used to defray the cost of AmeriCares' programs. Since 1982, AmeriCares has maintained an operating overhead of less than 2%.

AmeriCares is a nonprofit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, which provides immediate response to emergency medical needs—and supports long-term healthcare programs—for all people around the world, irrespective of race, creed or political persuasion.

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