U.N. mobilizes as Chile asks for help!
SANTIAGO, Chile - March 1, 2010 - The United Nations said Monday it would begin rushing aid deliveries to Chile after the government officially asked for help in its recovery from this weekend's massive earthquake.
U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said Chile formally made its request Monday, two days after the 8.8-magnitude quake struck about 200 miles south of the capital, Santiago, killing over 700 people.
Byrs told the Associated Press that the global body was now "ready to take action."
Before the request, international aid groups had sent some funds and experts. But their action was limited as Chilean officials were busy assessing the destruction from the earthquake and the needs of up to 2 million affected people.
Chile's government identified its emergency needs as temporary bridges, field hospitals, satellite phones, electric generators, damage assessment teams, water purification systems, field kitchens and dialysis centers, Byrs said.
"We are prepared to provide assistance," Byrs told AP. "It could be quite fast, given that our experts are on standby and were alerted in the region."
U.N. and Red Cross officials said details of the destruction in Chile remained sketchy, noting that aftershocks were a continued risk and citing a number of "silent areas" with no contact to the outside world.
The International Red Cross said volunteers were providing first aid in areas hardest hit, and that it was appealing for donations within Chile.
It has released $280,000 of its own funds, and is sending aid experts to help recovery efforts, but stressed that local officials were taking the lead - unlike in Haiti, where the January earthquake destroyed large parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed over 200,000.
"Haiti was a different case: We had an office there and we had people on the ground. We have no office in Chile," said Marcal Izard, a Red Cross spokesman in Geneva. "We are organizing help for families trying to reconnect. But it's really preliminary. We need to talk to the Chilean Red Cross and first find out what they need."
