Friends, Just to let you know what's happening right now with our Salvadoran
sisters and brothers. - Katherine
------ Forwarded Message
From: Jesse Kates-Chinoy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2005 16:57:33 -0700 (PDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [es-solidarity] El Salvador Update: Environmental Risk
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San Salvador, October 3rd, 2005
Sister Cities Friends, we will try to have more
information by tomorrow, but for tonight here is a
first installment of what has been going on in El
Salvador:
El Salvador is on red alert today across the country
due to torrential rains, that cause flash flooding and
overflowing rivers, affecting many communities across
the country. There are many roads completely blocked
off by mudslides, many houses flooded, and there have
been 23 people killed in the past 2 days by
landslides. The water-saturated hillsides are giving
way, and the marginalized neighborhoods built
precariously below them are getting buried.
At the same time, the Ilamatepec (Santa Ana) volcano
has erupted, with increased activity since Saturday,
and there are nearly 5,000 people evacuated in that
area.
FLOODING:
Many families need help, as they are trapped in the
flooded zones and the relief efforts dont seem to
reach them. CRIPDES is attending to the communities
that are part of its organizational base. The
majority of the flooded CRIPDES communities are in the
Lower Lempa region. The Electricity Administration
Company has opened the floodgates to discharge
4,000-5,000 cubic meters of water per second down the
Lempa river, and we fear that this will greatly worsen
the already critical situation around that region.
Many of those communities are difficult to evacuate
overland, as the roads are flooded.
We are working to evacuate 9 communities in the Lower
Lempa region, in the municipality of Tecoluca: Rancho
Grande, Taura, Las Anonas, Santa Marta, San Bartolo,
La Florida, and Nueva Jerusalen. It is a total of 216
families, 1080 persons, 628 of them children. We need
fresh water, food, and clothing among other things in
the shelters.
ILAMATEPEC:
At 8:45 a.m. the Santa Ana Volcano erupted, causing a
sudden and disorganized mass evacuation of the area,
mostly on foot. The government calculates around
15,000 displaced. There still remain communities who
have not evacuated. The eruption launched a cloud of
hot ash and rock into the air. The cloud of gases and
ash drifted to the southwest, creating conditions of
acid rain that could affect up to 20,000 people in the
departments of Santa Ana, Sonsonate and Ahuachapàn.
For many communities, evacuation is now more difficult
due to the roads that are pocked with large rocks
thrown from the eruption. The communities report a
strong stench of sulfur, constant tremors in the
earth, and health workers are beginning to report
respiratory problems, skin and eye irritation. The
surrounding vegetation, including nearly 30,000 acres
of coffee plants.
The Mesa Permanente de Gestion de Riesgo, MPGR,
(Permanent Table for Risk Mitigation) reports that 2
residents of the community Palo de Campana were buried
Ander a mudslide. Those are the only 2
volcano-related deaths reported to date.
Several communities had already evacuated, despite
government pleas to wait for their official order.
The community of Palo de Campana began the day before
the eruption. While church and social agencies have
supported the preventative evacuations assisted by the
MPGR, the government agencies have not.
Many social organizations remain critical of the
governments response to the eruption, stating that
there has been more time devoted to press
announcements than offering tangible assistance for
those affected by the situation. Immediate needs
reported include blankets, food, water, clothing,
post-trauma attention, infant nutrition, medicine and
solidarity.
In solidarity,
Jesse Kates-Chinoy
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