Some 500 Ecuador Red Cross volunteers continue
distributing food, clothes and kitchen utensils to people left destitute
by the devastating mud slides and floods that destroyed thousands of homes
and more than 105,000 hectares of crops in late February. Earlier
they were mobilized to help rescue victims of the disaster. "The
situation has dramatically deteriorated over the last few weeks",
says Daniel Ortega, national director of relief at the Ecuadorian Red Cross.
"Thousands of families have been isolated and have lost their
harvest. Our warehouses are almost empty and outside help is desperately
needed".
International assistance is on the way.
Thanks to a donation from the European community humanitarian office
(ECHO) to the French Red Cross and support from a Spanish non-governmental
organization, Solidaridad internacional, a relief and rehabilitation operation
will be set up for 10,000 families in the province of Manab and in some
communities around Guayas. Food and kitchen utensils will be distributed,
wells restored and sanitary conditions improved.
The Ecuadorian Red Cross recently identified 6,000 more families who desperately need help in the provinces of Loja, El Oro and Los Rios. The Federation launched an appeal this week for nearly 400,000 Swiss francs in order to deliver food to more than 16,000 people over the next two months.
WEEKLY NEWS IS PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL
FEDERATION OF RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES
17 Chemin de Crets, Geneva
Tel: (41 22) 730 4222
Fax: (41 22) 733 0395
E-mail: weeklynews@ifrc.org