Amazonas: Save the Children continues to assist vulnerable families who suffered a new earthquake

The same area that was shaken last November suffered another movement of 6.8 degrees. Some material damage and victims are recorded, so humanitarian assistance does not cease.

On Thursday, February 3, a new 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook Loreto (Amazonas) in the same area affected by the strong tremor of last November that left considerable material damage and affected families. So far no fatalities or injuries have been reported, but there was material damage and dozens of families lost their homes.

According to information from INDECI, updated at 12:30 pm on February 3, and based on data from the Disaster Risk Management offices of regional and local governments, some 24 people were affected by the damage or destruction from their homes in the province of Chachapoyas. However, in the district of Jalcas some 41 families were seriously affected, the home of 35 of them became uninhabitable. It should be noted that of those 41, some 11 houses were damaged in the November earthquake, but today they finished collapsing, as confirmed by Save the Children staff.

Faced with this complicated scenario, Save the Children reinforces its commitment to continue bringing humanitarian aid to this area of ​​Loreto through its humanitarian response program in Amazonas, with the support of Star Fund. It is estimated that some 900 affected families remain extremely vulnerable due to the continuation of natural disasters. This is explained by the limited management capacity of the authorities (caused by the number and overlap of successive events) and due to the poor implementation of CHS standards in relation to the shelter, protection and WASH sectors).

46% of the population in the affected areas already lived in poverty before the events. For this reason, the program responds to the needs of families in the area through the cash transfer modality, which will make it possible to meet the urgent and unmet needs of 440 affected families in terms of food, hygiene and protection. The goal is to provide a quick and efficient cash transfer mechanism to families and individuals in need to protect their well-being.

Likewise, in WASH, the acquisition and distribution of urgent water and sanitation infrastructure in displaced persons camps will reduce the health risk and the spread of COVID-19. These activities will attend to the needs of the most vulnerable populations while the government establishes the process of recovering the homes, the land highway, the health centers, the infrastructure of the schools and other material belongings of the victims.

These activities will be made available to the affected population in the refuge areas through the provision of water tanks, showers and toilet blocks. The water tanks will be used for the preparation of food in the kitchens, the maintenance of the existing showers, the toilet blocks and the laundry rooms. It is a hot area, with no showers or sinks available, and it is not designed for water supply, there is a high risk for children. WASH activities will serve to improve the sanitary conditions of the displaced population in five camps.

In terms of child protection and prevention of gender violence, two promoters will identify and select a total of 100 local agents to carry out the identification of potential risks within the shelters and apply risk mitigation measures. Having said that, we want to highlight the important work with municipalities and civil society, without their support it would not be possible. Save the Children provides assistance in six shelters, five of them located in the Amazon region (San Luis-La Caldera, El Salao, Puerto Naranjitos, San Isidro and La Jalca) and one in Cajamarca, Jaén (Los Huarangos).