El Salvador: Commission provides EUR 2 million following the earthquake

On Saturday 13 January, a violent earthquake hit El Salvador with devastating effects on the country and its population. So far, 681 people have been reported killed and 2,615 were injured. The number of those missing is close to 2,000 and more than 45,857 have been evacuated. The burial in a landslide of Las Colinas, a neighbourhood close to the capital city of San Salvador, was the most dramatic result of this new tragedy.

The European Commission has provided an immediate response to the earthquake through its Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO). This first €2 million package included food distribution; water and basic sanitation, relief items, health services and medical supplies for the next three months. The support was being channelled through the NGOs already working in the country: the German, Spanish and French Red Cross had been concentrating their efforts near San Salvador and in rural areas, where extensive damage and loss of life has been reported.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Relations between El Salvador and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/relations-between-el-salvador-and-the-european-union/

Politico, 17.01.01: IN BRIEF, The EU allocated an initial 2 million euro in emergency aid to help earthquake-stricken El Salvador http://www.politico.eu/article/in-brief-332/

ESO: Background information: Commission moves quickly to respond to the earthquake in El Salvador http://www.europeansources.info/record/commission-moves-quickly-to-respond-to-the-earthquake-in-el-salvador/

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