Red Cross Responds to Devastation in Chile

Red Cross Responds to Devastation in Chile

As the death toll from the massive earthquake which struck Chile on 27 February continues to climb above 700, the mobilisation of the Chilean Red Cross (CRC) and the international Red Cross gathers pace.

New Zealand Red Cross has launched a response fund to support those affected by the earthquake. The Chilean Earthquake Response Fund will support disaster response and relief and recovery operations. New Zealand Red Cross international operations manager Andrew McKie says New Zealand Red Cross has offered its support to the CRC if it should be required.

“Should there be a request for international assistance, New Zealand Red Cross will work together with the Chilean Red Cross,” says Mr McKie.

The CRC has launched a domestic appeal to help people affected by the earthquake, deployed trained disaster teams and called on all its youth volunteers to help with the relief effort.

Other international Red Cross societies have offered support, in the form of cash or experts in disaster response. So far, the International Red Cross has released 300,000 Swiss francs (NZD $399,720) from its emergency funds to support the CRC jump start its relief operations and deliver immediate relief items for 3,000 families.

A relief team from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent's Pan American Disaster Response Unit, based in Panama, is ready to leave for Chile, pending official request and a green light from the authorities. Dozens of aid workers from Red Cross Regional Intervention Teams, Emergency Response Units and Field Assessment Coordination Teams have been placed on stand-by.

Electricity installations, major bridges and water mains have been damaged, as well as many hospitals. Communications are still poor and it is impossible to reach the affected area by road.
The main focus of Red Cross activities in Chile is health (especially blood donation), first aid, mother and child health and the elderly. Trained emergency health volunteers are currently operating throughout the country.
Chile is a country prone to earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. In 1960, Chile was hit by a 9.5 magnitude quake which devastated the south-central city of Valdivia, killing 1,655 people and sending a tsunami which battered Easter Island, 2,300 miles off Chile's Pacific seaboard and continued as far as Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines and New Zealand.
In New Zealand, the Pacific tsunami warning issued to parts of the country in the wake of the earthquake has largely been downgraded. The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management has advised New Zealanders that there will be ongoing sea level fluctuations and tidal effects throughout the country for the rest of the day. People are advised to continue to take care in coastal areas.
To make a donation to the New Zealand Red Cross Chilean Earthquake Response Fund visit www.redcross.org.nz/donate

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