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Chile

Chile three months after the earthquake: Shelter from rain and cold weather remains a priority

Three months after a massive earthquake struck central Chile on 27 February, making sure thousands of vulnerable families are sheltered from the rain and cold of the approaching winter remains a priority for the Chilean Red Cross.

The 8.8 earthquake quake that wreaked havoc in Chile three months ago was followed by an equally devastating tsunami. This double disaster left 521 people dead, 56 missing, more than two million people affected, 370,000 homes destroyed and some 30 billion US dollars in damages. Heavy aftershocks are still being recorded to this day.

So far, 1,600 families have received transitional shelters under the Red Cross programme and 600 others, thanks to financial support from ECHO (the European Commission's Humnanitarian Office), have moved in to small wooden houses called 'mediaguas' in the regions of Maule and Bío-Bío, which were among those most affected by the disaster.

On 27 May, the Chilean Red Cross is launching its 'Tarjeta Red' (Reparation and development card) programme which will help 8,400 families whose homes have been destroyed or severely damaged to rebuild or repair their homes through a cash transfer system.

"These individual debit cards are non-transferable and can only be used to buy some 200 US dollars' worth of tools and construction materials through a network of designated hardware stores," explains IFRC Regional Representative Gustavo Ramirez, currently based in Chile. "An instruction manual on building techniques and security rules is provided with each card."

In parallel to its shelter assistance operation, the Chilean Red Cross is conducting a series of training seminars to set up national health emergency response teams. "Our aim is to train 40 volunteers specialized in emergency health, water and sanitation, and hygiene promotion with a focus on preventing epidemics," notes Ramirez. "They will be permanently assigned to all Red Cross branches across the country."

In addition, Chilean Red Cross volunteers have been trained to use and maintain the basic health care emergency response unit equipment provided by the Spanish Red Cross in Hualañé, in the region of Maule, where the local hospital was badly damaged. Since the disaster, the Spanish Red Cross team has treated more than 3,400 patients, and conducted hygiene promotion campaigns to prevent the spread of intestinal disease as well as influenza. The facility is being turned over to local staff.

The Chilean Red Cross has to date provided more than 9,800 vulnerable families in the quake-affected regions with food and relief goods, including kitchen utensils, hygiene articles, blankets, jerry cans and tarpaulins. The Red Cross has mobilized and distributed nearly 415 tonnes of humanitarian goods.

On 10 March, the IFRC launched a revised emergency appeal calling for 13 million Swiss francs (12.9 million US dollars / 9.4 million Euros) to fund health services for up to 90,000 people, shelter assistance for 10,000 families (50,000 people), relief items for 75,000 people as well as water and sanitation services for up to 10,000 people, for one year.

Over the last three months, some 80 international experts were sent to Chile to support the Red Cross operation, by the IFRC, the ICRC, the Red Cross Societies of Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, Germany, Japan, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, as well as the Turkish Red Crescent.

For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact:

In Panama:

Pilar Forcen, communications manager, Americas zone, Tel: + 507 380 0266 /+ 507 66 723 170

Rodolfo Bergantino, information officer, Tel: + 507 380 0266 /+ 507 66 707 365

In Santiago, Chile:

Silvia Santander, Head of Communications, Chilean Red Cross, Tel: + 56 777 60 38

In Geneva:

Marie-Françoise Borel, communications officer, Tel: + 41 79 217 33 45