Red Cross Workers Intensify Rescue Efforts in El Salvador

Written by Christina Ward, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

January 16, 2001 — Survivors and recovery workers in El Salvador spent Tuesday (Jan. 16) digging through dirt and mud for anyone who might be alive, against odds, beneath the rubble. In the three days since a massive 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Central America, more than 600 bodies have been found, and at least 1,000 people remain missing. Officials said it was unlikely they would find anyone alive at this point — those not killed instantly have probably suffocated. Rescue teams are focusing efforts on the towns that were inaccessible initially due to landslides following the quake. In some areas, including the San Salvador suburb of Santa Tecla, entire neighborhoods were buried under sudden waves of mud and rocks.

Meanwhile, continual aftershocks from Saturday's quake are making relief efforts more difficult. El Salvador's government has asked thousands of families to evacuate their homes, fearing additional landslides as the earth continues to shake. Officials have set up dozens of shelters away from landslide-prone neighborhoods.

"[Evacuation] is critical because we are still feeling tremors," El Salvador Army Major Hugo Stanley Hernadez told the media. "There are parts of the hill that are completely loose. We want these people out of there so that they don't suffer any more." Many of the victims have been buried in mass graves. Late Tuesday, 3,000 coffins were due to arrive from Colombia, CNN reported.

So far, most of the deaths appear to have occurred in Las Colinas, a middle-class neighborhood in Santa Tecla. But 185 landslides have been reported throughout the country, and casualty totals have been impossible to determine. On Tuesday, the Salvadoran military began to send helicopters into areas that were unreachable by road.

Governments and relief organizations from around the world are contributing to the recovery effort in El Salvador, providing money, supplies and disaster-trained workers. In the United States, El Salvador's ambassador, Rene Leon, was scheduled to meet Tuesday with White House officials to discuss additional relief options for the quake-stricken country. A team from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is currently assisting the Salvadoran government in search and recovery throughout the affected area.

The Red Cross has launched a major relief effort in response to the disaster. Along with 1,000 staff members and volunteers from the Salvadoran Red Cross, a delegation of 33 international staff members will remain in El Salvador to help coordinate the organization's work there as recovery continues. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies issued an appeal for funding over the weekend, and as of Tuesday, the donations totaled about $1.2 million. Six International Red Cross teams are assessing damage throughout the country; the results will be used to issue a more detailed appeal.

Many Red Cross workers are distributing emergency relief supplies to earthquake victims. More than 4,500 families in 30 communities have received blankets, kitchen sets, hygiene items and plastic sheeting. On Monday night, a Red Cross team reached the town of Comasagua, about 17 miles east of San Salvador. Comasagua was one of many towns cut off by landslide damage. Workers also made it to Usulatan, about 62 miles southeast of San Salvador. Teams are traveling on foot to the isolated communities of Chuiltiupan and Cajayaque in La Libertad province. More than 4,500 homes are said to be buried in these two small towns.

"More than 1,000 Red Cross volunteers went into action within minutes of Saturday's earthquake and have been working around the clock since," said Santiago Gil, director of the Federation's Americas Department. "The Salvadoran Red Cross ambulance service and blood bank have also been working nonstop. Although fatigue is setting in for the volunteers, efforts continue."

Concerned family and friends in the United States may be unable to contact their loved ones. For inquiries about relatives living in El Salvador, Guatemala or Nicaragua who are foreign nationals or citizens of these countries, you are encouraged to keep calling as communications are being restored, try contacting friends or family members who live nearby or contact your local Red Cross. For inquiries concerning U.S. citizens, people are encouraged to contact their local Red Cross or the U.S. Department of State, at (202) 647-5225.