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Save the Children warns that hundreds of thousands of children could be affected by Chilean quake

2010-03-03

 

Save the Children is raising funds to get life-saving help to families in Chile affected by the major earthquake that struck this morning, measuring 8.8 magnitude.

The aid agency is warning that hundreds of thousands of children could be affected.

Matt Wingate, head of Save the Children's Chile emergency response, said: "Children's lives will have been turned upside down. They may be injured themselves, or will have to deal with the trauma of what they've been through, of seeing their homes destroyed or their parents or siblings killed or injured. Some are also likely to have been separated from their families in the chaos, and will urgently need protection if they are trying to cope on their own."

The earthquake has been followed by a series of strong aftershocks, which has the potential to destroy even more buildings and threaten the lives of children and their families. The initial quake has triggered a tsunami and many Pacific countries are now on tsunami alert.

Matt Wingate continued: "It's still difficult to know exactly what has happened on the ground, as many phone networks are still down and there is a lot of confusion. There is also still severe danger posed by potential aftershocks and access could be hampered if roads are blocked by rubble.

"However Save the Children is mobilising funds and emergency experts, and our teams are preparing to respond through our partners on the ground. At this stage we assume and prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. It is likely that casualties will rise, and of course the possibility of tsunamis poses even great threat.


"However this is not another Haiti, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. Chile has the resources to be able to respond to this type of disaster and we will support their work in any way we can, focusing on the needs of children - keeping them safe and making sure they can get back to school."