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Akron, Pa.
MCC plans response to El Salvador quake


Following an earthquake January 13 that left hundreds dead and thousands missing, Mennonite Central Committee is working with partner agencies to assess damage in El Salvador. No MCC workers were injured, and no major damage was sustained in the towns where they work.

MCC will wait to finalize its response to the disaster until it receives reports from workers and partner agencies and consults with them on the best response.

The earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, took the most lives in Santa Tecla, a city just west of San Salvador, the capital. The department hardest hit by the quake overall was Usulutan, on the southeastern coast.

MCC partners ANAES and CEBES (Fundacion Mercedes Ruiz), Salvadoran humanitarian agencies that work in these areas, were assessing damage January 16 using the MCC four-wheel drive vehicle. MCC worker Audrey Hess was preparing to go with CEBES personnel to a shelter near Santa Tecla.

“We’ll be delivering clothes and food, and we are helping them get some plastic for temporary shelters,” Hess said.

MCC country representatives Byron Peachey and Deanna Durham were in the United States visiting family when the earthquake hit. They were preparing to return to San Salvador on Sunday, January 14. They now plan to fly to Guatemala January 16 and attempt to go by bus to San Salvador.

Hess and her husband, Fred Oberholzer, travelled to San Salvador from their home in the northeast department of Morazan shortly after the earthquake.

“En route we learned more and more about the extent of the quake. The bus needed to take a detour to bypass a large landslide on the Pan-American Highway,” said Oberholzer. He and his wife arrived in the capital to find the MCC office in good condition, with some broken bottles and upturned shelves the only result of the quake.

On January 15, Oberholzer reported, “As I write, the earth periodically wavers beneath me – the tremors continue.” Aftershocks from the earthquake, which continue to cause landslides, have measured as high as 4 on the Richter scale. Many of El Salvador’s city slums perch preciously on hills that are vulnerable to landslides.

MCC worker Tanya Chute was helping people in her community in the department of Chalatenango gather relief supplies to deliver to San Salvador. Mennonite churches in El Salvador are also working to gather supplies for earthquake victims, and groups from Guatemala have discussed coming to help.

MCC hopes to have a plan of response in place by January 20.

 – Rachel B. Miller, for MCC

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Last modified January 31, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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