Red Cross Blogs

Chile: more than 200 aftershocks since the quake

By Sarah Oughton
March 11, 2010 at 3:48 pm

I think I’m probably in the same boat as most people when I say that starting a new job can be a wee bit daunting. But for most of us on our first day in a new job we’re unlikely to be faced with the mammoth challenge of ensuring your nation recovers from its most devastating disaster in half a century – so spare a thought for Sebastián Piñera as he begins his new job as president of Chile.

It’s been almost two weeks since the earthquake and tsunami in Chile and there have been more than 200 subsequent aftershocks which continue to shake damaged buildings and infrastructure.

The number of people thought to have died has been fluctuating but government figures from 7 March report the loss of 528 lives.

Although the Chilean government has restored electricity and water in many regions, the people in the hardest hit areas are still facing big challenges to get access to these basic services. The reopening of some of the country’s main thoroughfares has begun in a government-sponsored effort to ensure connections between regions.

The Chilean Red Cross has been responding to the emergency since day one. Volunteers and staff, with support from other Red Cross National Societies, such as Spain and Japan, are active in the hardest hit regions of Maule and Biobío.

Initial assessments to identify the humanitarian needs show that health services, emergency and transitional shelter, and water and sanitation continue to be high priorities.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched an appeal for £8.5 million to help people recover over the next year. This includes:

•    emergency supplies for 75,000 people
•    water and sanitation for up to 10,000 households
•    emergency and/or transitional shelter for 50,000 people
•    preventative community-based health care for at least 90,000 people.

So far, the British Red Cross appeal has raised £165,000 and the money is being used to support the Chilean Red Cross emergency response operation.

Images © IFRC

---

Comment (0) »

---

Tags: Chile, Chilean Red Cross, disaster, earthquake, emergency response, Health and social care, shelter, tsunami, water and sanitation

The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Emergencies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

---