A massive earthquake struck southern Peru about 180 km (110 miles) southeast of the capital, Lima, in the early evening on August 15, decimating several towns near the Pacific coast. The quake, which registered 8.0 on the Richter scale, killed 513 people, injured 1,100, and left as many as 100,000 homeless. Hardest hit were Pisco, Ica and Chincha, the largest towns immediately south of Lima.
Apparently not a safe place at all to visit at the moment. The civil defence are having to send armed guards with the supplies as trucks are being raided. It is becoming fairly hostile in the south now due to the level of desperation of local people, also hundreds of prisoners escaped from a prison nearby.Well, we are glad we saw it in peaceful times and hope it will get back to it fairly soon.
1 comment:
Interesting post! I am the Communications Coordinator at an international aid and relief org called Giving Children Hope and we have been very involved in the relief effort in Peru! We have currently shipped 2 containers of medical supplies, clothing, and food to Peru and are collecting goods to include in our third container. Our partners on the ground have shared how desperately aid is needed in Pisco and how rioting has broken out over scarce resources. If you would like to learn more about our work in Peru or how you can get involved, visit www.gchope.org and/or email me at astinson@godaid.org.
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