Caritas Switzerland supports the earthquake victims in Ecuador and has allocated an initial amount of CHF 100,000 for emergency relief. The international Caritas Network is present on the ground and has already initiated measures. Caritas Switzerland is providing emergency aid in cooperation with Swiss Solidarity.
In the night of 16 April, Ecuador was hit by a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake. Since then, there have been more than 700 aftershocks, and the government has declared a nationwide state of emergency.
The death toll has now risen to more than 600, around 12,000 people were injured, and hundreds are still missing. The scale of the damage to buildings and infrastructure is enormous and, in the words of President Rafael Correa, it is the worst catastrophe Ecuador has experienced in 67 years.
The quake hit the economically weak provinces of Esmeraldas and Mantabi, which were at the epicentre, hardest. Access to these regions is made more difficult due to the heavy rainfalls in the days before the disaster. Landslides have blocked some roads leading to the affected areas.
The president of Caritas Ecuador, Walter Heras, asked the international Caritas Network for help. He was deeply worried about the remote regions which are almost inaccessible. Gabriela Andrade, the head of communications of Caritas Ecuador, says that many people would be sleeping out in the open. ‘People need tents and also inflatable boats because the roads have been destroyed in many areas.’
The focus of the international Caritas aid is on the provision of emergency shelters and emergency relief supplies such as drinking water and food. Caritas Switzerland is in close contact with Caritas Ecuador and other organisations of the international Caritas Network who are present in Ecuador working on disaster prevention projects, among other things, and are thus aware of the needs of the population.
Heras also addressed the question reconstruction: ‘Many people have lost their homes and their livelihoods. They need support to return to their normal daily life’.
Caritas Switzerland has allocated an initial amount of CHF 100,000 for emergency relief.
