PAHO Working with Peru in Earthquake Response

Washington, June 25, 2001 (PAHO) - The Pan American Health Organization is working closely with authorities in Peru in response to the major earthquake that shook southern Peru and northern Chile, leaving some 70 dead, 1,200 injured, and some 10,000 homeless. The cities of Arequipa, Tacna and Moquegua were most affected by the 7.9 Richter scale earthquake.

PAHO disaster experts from its Ecuador office arrived in Peru Sunday and are supporting Ministry of Health and Civil Defense authorities in assessing immediate needs, evaluating damages, and providing health services to affected populations.

Moquegua, the city most severely affected by the earthquake, suffered serious damage to about half its houses, and its water and sewage systems collapsed. Water is now being distributed by tanker trucks and large parts of the city are still without electricity, according to PAHO experts, with many people sleeping in parks or in the streets, afraid to return to their homes because of continuing aftershocks.

In Arequipa, the Ministry of Health's Goyeneche hospital suffered severe damages and the Social Security hospital's elevators were damaged, putting seven floors out of commission. In Tacna, the Unanue hospital had to evacuate four floors due to severe cracks, but continues to function. In the north of Chile no serious damage was reported and all hospitals continue functioning. The hospital in Arica has no electricity and is functioning with emergency generators. Apparently there are no problems with the water supply, although some damage was caused by loose tiles and plaster from the walls. The other major hospitals are reporting no damage for the time being, though there was widespread destruction among adobe structures in Arica.

The Peruvian Ministry of Health's disaster program is meeting today to draw up a list of necessary supplies and medicines, and with support from PAHO, is sending architects and engineers with expertise in hospital equipment and infrastructure evaluation to Arequipa, Tacna and Moquegua. They are also sending water recipients, medicines, and chlorine tablets for water purification to Moquegua, said Dr. Ciro Ugarte, PAHO's Ecuador-based disaster expert who is now in Peru.

A situation room has been set up in the health ministry, with PAHO support, and updates on damages and the health situation are being prepared, Dr. Ugarte said.

Those who were severely injured were evacuated by air from Moquegua to Arequipa, where better attention is available. Though enough supplies are on hand to treat the injured, there is a lack of medicines for acute respiratory infections and diarrhea, according to Ministry of Health officials.

"There is no need for medical volunteers or field hospitals," said Dr. Claude de Ville, chief of PAHO's Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Coordination program in Washington.

The Pan American Health Organization, which works with the countries of the Americas in preparing for emergencies and responding to disasters, has been active since 1902 in improving the health and raising the living standards of the people of the Americas. It also serves as the regional office for the Americas of the World Health Organization.