Situation: More than 1,500 people were feared dead today in the worst earthquake to hit India in 50 years, which was felt as far away as neighboring Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. The quake - measured at 7.9 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 was no immediate official word on casualties but
the Press Trust of India, quoting officials, put the number of dead at
1000 and rising. In neighboring Pakistan, rescue workers said that the
quake had killed at least four people there. 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: The earthquake occurred while an AmeriCares project director for India was visiting one of AmeriCares' long-term healthcare programs in southwest India. He is currently in Ahmedabad to collaborate with local emergency authorities. Additional information regarding AmeriCares response will be disseminated as relief efforts become finalized. At this point the government of India has not appealed for outside assistance but if aid is requested AmeriCares is prepared to help meet both the medical and sheltering needs of the victims. We have offered 1,000 tents sufficient to accommodate over 6,000 people to the Government of India.
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 be massive and lead to an interruption in basic health care services. The immediate materials AmeriCares has offered to provide to the emergency authorities, pending an assessment, include emergency medical assistance and managing the homeless population.
AmeriCares has been active in India since the beginning of its international aid programs, and has provided critical relief to victims of numerous floods, cyclones, earthquakes and complex humanitarian emergencies, as well as providing on-going medical relief to numerous hospitals and clinics. AmeriCares has worked with several partners in many regions including the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, 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 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.
Please help us to continue to bring urgently needed relief to India's earthquake victims by sending your cash donations to AmeriCares, 161 Cherry Street, New Canaan, CT 06840, by calling AmeriCares at 1.800.486.HELP or by donating online at www.americares.org.