Chile earthquake
We are supporting our partners who are helping those affected by a huge earthquake which struck close to the major city of Concepcion.
Catalina, 13, in front of her destroyed home in Santiago, Chile, with her sister Antonia, 2. "My mother woke me up when the earthquake started. She took me to the living room — a second later, the wardrobe fell onto my bed. The walls of the house were falling down. My father was injured protecting my little sister Antonia with his body — a cupboard fell on him. We don't have much water and we need a place to stay.”
The earthquake hit 70 miles (115 km) northeast of Concepcion — the second largest city in Chile with a population of around 900,000 — on February 27. Since then, there have been more than 100 aftershocks.
Children are always among the most vulnerable in such a huge earthquake — suffering extreme trauma from the disaster, as well as trying to cope with being separated from parents and close family in the chaos, and the loss of their relatives.
Our support will focus specifically on the needs of those children – keeping them safe, and ensuring they can get back to school where possible. We are also deeply concerned that the poorest communities in the affected areas will suffer the most, with less access to food and shelter. Support to them must be a priority.
Please support our emergency response in Chile.
Latest News
- Sunday 28 February 2010 Hundreds of thousands of children could be affected by Chilean quake
- Measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale, the major earthquake that hit Chile Saturday morning could affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of children.
