Author: Nadia McGill
Silver Spring, Maryland-In the aftermath of Hurricane Norbert, the most powerful storm of the 2008 Pacific hurricane season so far, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is currently distributing emergency hygiene kits to approximately 1,000 survivors in Álamos, in northwestern Mexico, to aid in their recovery after the storm struck in early October.
At the request of the municipal government of Álamos, a colonial city located in state of Sonora, where more than half of the town was reported damaged, ADRA is conducting home-to-home deliveries of hygiene kits to 200 impoverished households directly affected by the flooding in the city and in surrounding rural communities. To expedite the assistance, and to ensure that supplies are distributed where they are needed most, ADRA is working closely with local and municipal authorities. These kits are designed to provide a family of five enough hygiene supplies to last one month. Each packet comes complete with bath soap, laundry detergent bars, toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes, female sanitary pads, shampoo, lotion, and children's diapers. The project, which began October 24, is ongoing.
"Our intervention is primarily targeted to aid survivors who lack the financial resources to recover from this tragedy on their own," said Rafael García Valderrábano, country director for ADRA Mexico. "These basic supplies will help them to not only care for their personal hygiene, but will also protect their health, well-being and dignity."
The most urgent needs are for housing reconstruction materials, roofing sheets, food aid, hygiene kits, clothing, and diapers. The project is funded through a partnership between ADRA International, the ADRA Inter-America Regional office, the ADRA North Mexican Union office, and the ADRA office located in Sonora.
On October 11, Hurricane Norbert made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, considerably weaker from its earlier Category 4 intensity, in Baja California on Mexico's northwest coast, with winds up to 100 mph (160 km/h), tearing down trees, pulling off rooftops, and leaving behind hundreds of destroyed homes. After crossing the Gulf of California, Norbert struck again as a Category 1 hurricane, with sustained winds of up to 87 mph (140 km/h) in the state of Sonora, off the Pacific coast. In Álamos, where eight people died and 8,000 were affected, the rain-swollen river La Aduana broke through its levees, inundating city streets.
To assist in ADRA's emergency response to Hurricane Norbert in Mexico, contributions can be donated to ADRA's Emergency Response Fund, by phone at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or online at www.adra.org.
ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race, or ethnicity.
Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org.
Media Contact: John Torres, Senior Public Relations Manager, ADRA International 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904 Phone: 301.680.6357 E-mail: Media.Inquiries@adra.org