Anacortes - San Juan Islands Chapter
Photo Credits: Talia Frenkel, American Red Cross
DISASTER RESPONSE IN CHILE:
Update March 5, 2010
The American Red Cross has increased its pledge to $500,000 for relief operations in Chile following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake on February 27; and we are prepared to provide additional relief supplies, trained personnel and financial assistance.
- The American Red Cross is providing 5,000 water-carrying cans, following an appeal for relief supplies from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC).
- The Chilean Red Cross has activated volunteers who are distributing food, hygiene articles and blankets to survivors. The volunteers are also providing mental health support to the affected people. In addition, the Chilean Red Cross has called upon the local people to donate blood in order to keep up with demand from hospitals
- A five member regional Red Cross team of disaster experts is in Chile to provide technical support for Chilean Red Cross response activities and to perform damage assessments, emergency relief and communications support.
- The global Red Cross network has issued a response plan that will provide relief supplies, emergency shelter, basic health care, and water and sanitation for 15,000 families for six months.
The American Red Cross is now accepting donations specifically for response and recovery in Chile. This includes Chile-designated donations through www.redcross.org , through calls to1-800-REDCROSS, and by texting "CHILE" to 90999. People can also call 1-800-257-7575 to make a donation in Spanish.
- We waited to accept Chile-designated donations until more was known about the need and there was a specific request for international assistance for the earthquake survivors.
- The International Federation of the Red Cross on Tuesday launched a preliminary emergency appeal of $6.4 million to all Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in order to assist the Chilean Red Cross. The American Red Cross is accepting donations in response to this appeal.
- The American Red Cross has committed a total of $500,000 to help the Chilean Red Cross respond to the needs of people
Our hearts go out to the people of Chile as they cope with the immediate aftermath of this devastating earthquake and its aftershocks..
- Chilean officials report that more than 2 million people have been affected by the earthquake, 500,000 homes have been seriously damaged and approximately 1.5 million houses may have sustained damage. It is believed that adobe structures and indigenous populations were among the worst affected.
- Communications and electricity are progressively being restored in Santiago but still remain out in the hardest hit areas, which is hampering relief operations. This has also significantly affected hospitals and health centers especially in the cities of Concepcion, Talca and Curico where many hospitals are unable to function. The government is installing field hospitals and will launch a health campaign.
- In Santiago, the country’s capital, the international airport is operational. Major ports have also been damaged and bridges connecting the central regions of the country have collapsed limiting access to the affected regions.
- The ICRC has launched a Family Links Website aimed at helping people in Chile and abroad to register the names of relatives with whom they wish to restore contact. People seeking news from their loved ones can register directly on the site at: https://www.icrc.org/familylinks
The American Red Cross is also continuing to support the massive relief operations in Haiti, where more than 1.9 million people have been helped since the January 12th earthquake in that country.
- Over 600 Red Cross/Red Crescent workers from more than 30 national societies have been deployed to Haiti and are working alongside an estimated 13,000 Haitian National Red Cross Society volunteers.
- More than seven weeks since the earthquake struck, the immense needs in Haiti continue. All humanitarian organizations, including the Red Cross, are working to provide safe, waterproof shelter before the rainy season beings in April.
- As the largest global humanitarian network, the Red Cross has both the experience and the capacity to respond simultaneously to multiple disasters. Today, we are supporting the Chilean Red Cross in their response to the earthquake while relief operations continue in Haiti. Last fall the Red Cross responded to a series of major disasters that hit the Asia and Pacific region within a week: back-to-back typhoons in southeast Asia, an earthquake in Indonesia and a tsunami in America Samoa and Samoa.
