|
On
January 13, El Salvador experienced a serious earthquake,
measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale. Since the initial
earthquake, over 500 tremors radiated from the epicenter,
located 65 miles southwest of San Miguel. There was
extensive damage throughout the nation with the death
toll exceeding 680, thousands injured and thousands
displaced by the destruction of their houses and communities.
Three
employees of USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
(OFDA) were in the capital, San Salvador, at the time
of the earthquake. They were able to provide immediate
assistance, working alongside the El Salvadoran Red
Cross, COEN, the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador, and the
USAID mission office to begin ascertaining the extent
of damage and humanitarian needs and to coordinate assistance.
US Forest Service International Programs' Disasters Assistance
Support Program (DASP), which operates closely with
OFDA, lent its support to the response. DASP Disaster
Management Specialist, Larry Bryant, worked with OFDA's
El Salvador Earthquake Response Management Team as the
Communication and Records Coordinator. Bryant tracked,
documented, and archived all internal and external communications
and correspondence related to OFDA's response to this
disaster. Bill Laspina, on detail with DASP from the
National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, ID, assisted
OFDA's Logistics Unit in procuring and transporting
relief supplies.
For
additional information about the relief effort in El
Salvador, please refer to the OFDA web site and the
Natural Disasters section of ReliefWeb.
|
