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Earthquake in El Salvador
Situation Report, 18 January 2001
Assessment teams are continually providing updated information on the health
situation in El Salvador. Updates on the situation, including the extent of
the damages and the health situation reports, are being posted on PAHO's website
at http://www.paho.org/disasters/
(the Spanish website http://www.paho.org/desastres/
is updated first) and on the site: http://www.ops.org.sv/.
The most recent data shows that:
- As of this morning 39 % of hospitals were lost and significant damage to
laboratory materials has been discovered . Temporary clinics are being set
up to in several areas to accomodate the fact that over 1300 beds have been
rendered unusable by damages caused by the earthquake. In the case of the
Rosales and San Rafael hospitals (see detailed report on the web) damages
are structural and will take years to be fixed. A number of medical and rescue
teams are on the spot already - no more are needed. The real issue hence is
not the number of injured due to the earthquake but rather how to reactivate
the hospital network in order to deal with a country that continues to have
deliveries or surgery.
- Shelter has been the most critical and growing issue in the last two days.
Numbers vary greatly depending on the source of information and the time of
day. In some areas such as "El Cafetalon" there are over 5,000 people.
Water and food supply is not a real issue as a number of measures have already
been taken. However food handling and preservation, latrines and solid waste
disposal are real issues that are being handled by groups of engineers from
several organizations. This situation is expected to last weeks and months
before even a temporary solution will be provided to the homeless population.
- The number of aftershocks, in addition to the fact that the entire country
has been affected one way or the other, constitutes a major stress on each
individual - rescuer and/or victim. This has lead some to advise the population,
incorrectly, to dispose quickly of dead bodies because they represent a threat
to public health. It is a well known fact that people dying in those conditions
are not the cause of epidemics when basic rules of hygiene in corpse preservation
are followed . It is also well known that mass burial has a huge impact on
the mental health of survivors. Being able to identify the bodies of family
and friends, even if only through pictures, facilitates the mourning process.
In addition, the legal implication of mass burials are endless in terms of
pension, insurance, inheritance, etc.
- The process of inventorying humanitarian assistance has been fairly smooth.
SUMA ( Humanitarian Supply Management System) has been installed in several
locations with the support of the government and the private sector. Volunteers
from all over the region has been mobilized by PAHO through FUNDESUMA ( a
Costa Rica based international NGO) . All organizations have been invited
to participate in this effort at transparency. The information collected by
SUMA is being made available through embassies in El Salvador. One conclusion
is already extremely clear: the solidarity of neighboring countries has been
very high and extremely efficient.
- The PAHO team in El Salvador has been strengthened with the addition of
16 specialists in areas such as structural and non-structural assessment of
health facilities and water distribution systems, epidemiologists to monitor
cases of diarrhea, dengue, leptospirosis and other diseases, a food handling
specialist , a sanitary engineer for shelter, latrines and solid waster disposal
and specialists for mental health and health education. Additional personnel
will be flown to El Salvador from neighboring countries to assist in re-establishing
the hospital network, fixing medical and lab equipment, storage and distribution
of medical and health supplies, etc.
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