Panama City, 17 November 2009

To support the emergency relief operation of the Salvadoran Red Cross following the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched an emergency appeal for more than 1.5 million Swiss francs (1.5 million US dollars / 1 million euro). The funds will be used to distribute food and other relief items to 10,000 of the most severely affected people. 

In addition, the Salvadoran Red Cross (SRC) will provide urgently-needed temporary shelter, emergency health care and water and sanitation services. The SRC will also assist with early recovery. 

The 2,000 most affected families will receive essential relief items such as blankets, hygiene articles and kitchen utensils. An additional 300 households will be offered healthy and safe places to stay in the departments of San Vicente, La Paz, Cuscatlán and San Salvador. 

Volunteers trained in psychosocial support will help 5,000 people in the most affected departments deal with the trauma and stress of having lived through a major disaster.  

“Since the beginning of this emergency, 500 Red Cross volunteers have been mobilized. This includes volunteers trained in flood rescue, as well as divers, boat drivers, logisticians, first aiders, specialists in damage and needs assessment and national intervention teams,” explains Gustavo Amilcar Tejada, Director of Relief Operations for the Salvadoran Red Cross. “During the search and rescue, Salvadoran Red Cross volunteers also started to distribute water in five of the most affected departments, as they were assessing the damage.” 

The distribution of relief goods is being coordinated with the civil protection branch of the government as well as with other organizations such as Oxfam, Care and Plan International.  

The quick delivery of urgently-needed goods was made possible thanks to pre-positioned items from the Salvadoran Red Cross Society as well as in-kind donations from the Spanish Red Cross and the Swiss Red Cross. In addition, the IFRC office in Panama dispatched relief items for 1,500 families by plane.  

“The Salvadoran Red Cross has begun to distribute the goods to the people who need them most. Transportation costs were covered by an agreement between the IFRC and the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States,” says Mauricio Bustamante, Head of Operations for the IFRC office in Panama. 

During 7 and 8 November, Hurricane Ida brought torrential rains to El Salvador. As a result, major rivers overflowed and floods and mudslides severely affected seven departments in the centre of El Salvador. 

At least 157 people are presumed dead and 58 more are missing. The floods also destroyed water, electrical and telecommunications systems, damaged roads, health and educational centres and houses. Currently, 131 collective centres are providing shelter to a total of 14,096 people. More than 1,800 houses have been damaged or destroyed. 

182,501 Swiss francs (180,614 US dollars; 120,783 euro) were allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support this operation

For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact: 

• Manuel Rodriguez, emergency communications officer Tel: + (507) 6679-4334

• Pilar Forcen, communications manager   Tel: + (507) 6672-3170