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CWS situation report: Peru earthquake
A man walks past debris after an earthquake struck Ica city August 16, 2007. Powerful aftershocks shook Peru on Thursday as rescuers pulled wounded and dead from collapsed homes and churches a day after a massive earthquake killed hundreds of people.
Photo: REUTERS/Pilar Olivares, courtesy www.alertnet.org
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The Wednesday (Aug. 15) earthquake that hit the coastal areas of western Peru has killed at least 450 people, and the death toll is expected to rise.
The quake's epicenter, off the coastal city of Pisco, had the force of an 8 on the Richter scale and devastated a number of cities and rural towns. Rescue teams are being hampered by poor road conditions and downed power lines to reach survivors and hundreds of dead are being pulled from the rubble.
The mayor of Pisco estimated that 70 percent of his coastal city was in ruins, the BBC reported. "It is totally indescribable," he said.
The province of Ica was the most damaged, the BBC reported -- an area where there is a large indigenous population, speaking Quechua and Aymara, and where many residents are extremely poor. More than 1 out of 10 Peruvians live on less than one dollar a day, according to some estimates.
CWS Response: Church World Service will support efforts by its partners and fellow Action by Churches Together (ACT) members in Peru, including the Evangelical Lutheran Association for Aid to Community Development (DIACONIA) and Lutheran World Relief (LWR). CWS is also in touch with another partner and ACT member, the Center for Studies and Disaster Prevention (PREDES). All three CWS partners and ACT members in Peru have activities in the affected area.
Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;
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