CHILE QUAKE: World Vision Update, March 2, 2010

Assessment teams travel to unreached areas

• Two World Vision teams arrrived in the hardest hit areas Sunday night and began surveying damage Monday, particularly in areas close to the epicenter where World Vision has community development programs.
  
  
• One team moved from town to town by helicopter to try and reach areas that have been isolated by damaged roads. The second team traveled by road to Concepcion, reporting that the highway was useable, but travel was extremely slow.
  
  
• In the fishing and tourist village of Dichato, aid worker Paula Saez describe the situation as "catastrophic." There is no road access to the city and its residents have received no aid, Saez reported.
  
  
• Significant damage was reported in the city of Constitucion as a result of the tsunami that struck the area following the earthquake. The team also reported significant damage in the towns of Lota and Coronel.
  
  

• World Vision's office in Concepcion has sustained damage.
  
  
• World Vision's regional director for Conception is currently in the town of Lola which is cut off from the outside. Staff are working to find a way to transport him back to the city.
  
  
• In Temuco, World Vision's regional director lost his entire house in the quake and is now sleeping at the World Vision office.
  
  
• One staff member remains isolated and unreachable in the city of Chillan; another remains isolated in Curico. A third team member was on vacation in the affected area and has not yet been reached.
  
  World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org/press.