Save The Children starts Chile Emergency Fund

Save The Children starts Chile Emergency Fund

At 3:34am on February 27 2010, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 struck central Chile, 91km from the city of Concepcion.

So far the death toll in Chile is at 178 and Save the Children is warning is that hundreds of thousands of children and families have been affected.

The earthquake triggered several aftershocks and tsunami warnings were issued to coastal areas of South America and to the South Pacific.

Matt Wingate, head of Save the Children's Chile emergency response, said "It's still difficult to know exactly what has happened on the ground, as many phone networks are still down and there is a lot of confusion. There is also still severe danger posed by potential aftershocks and access could be hampered if roads are blocked by rubble.

However Save the Children is mobilising funds and emergency experts, and our teams are preparing to respond through our partners on the ground. At this stage we assume and prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. It is likely that casualties will rise, and of course the possibility of tsunamis poses even great threat. This is not another Haiti, Chile has the resources to be able to respond to this type of disaster and we will support their work in any way we can”

Save the Children New Zealand has launched a Children’s Emergency Fund. This fund has been put in place in light of the numerous emergencies that have occurred recently and to ensure we are prepared to respond quickly and efficiently to emergency situations like Haiti, Chile and events closer to home like Samoa.

New Zealanders wishing to donate to the Children’s Emergency Fund can visit our website, www.savethechildren.org.nz or call our donation line 0800 167 168

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