CHURCH WORLD SERVICE
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM
Church World Service is the Relief and Development Agency of the 36 member
denominations of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A
36 Denominations & Communions Working Together to Meet Human Needs
SITUATION: A second major
earthquake rocked El Salvador today, exactly a month after a January 13
quake killed at least 844 people.
The quake's magnitude registered 6.1 on the Richter scale, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That was well below the 7.6 quake in January, but enough to cause damage.
Reports varied about casualties: the BBC reported at least 18 people were killed today, while Reuters reported that at least 15 people had died. More than 200 houses collapsed, the Associated Press (AP) reported, and public buildings were evacuated as a precaution.
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) office in El Salvador reported that the quake's epicenter was located 80 kilometers off the coast of Usulután, in the region of "Los Blancos."
RESPONSE: LWF is the lead agency of the Action by Churches Together (ACT) International network and is being supported with assistance from CWS. Further assessment information is expected from LWF about damage and needs in the wake of today's earthquake.
Church World Service has assisted directly in the response to the January earthquake by providing a $30,000 air-freight shipment of 4,000 blankets to LWF. It has also issued an appeal (#6727) for $500,000 to support the wider ACT efforts. (See: www.cwserp.org
For more information on ACT efforts: www.act-intl.org
CHURCH WORLD SERVICE, Attn. El Salvador Earthquake, #6727, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. Phone pledges or credit card donations: 1-800-297-1516, ext. 222. On-line contributions to: www.churchworldservice.org
Call the CWS HOTLINE for updates: (800) 297-1516, ext. 111.
For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is responding,
contact CWS Emergency Response.
Telephone: (212) 870-3151
E-mail: cherlinger@ncccusa.org
After-hours emergency pager: (800) 780-0853
Web site: www.cwserp.org