Food, drink, medicine and blankets have been rushed to tens of
thousands of people in El Salvador following Saturday’s earthquake that killed more than 600 people and left about 500 more missing, feared dead.
The massive international relief operation to help the smallest Central American nation continues despite aftershocks that measure up to 5 in magnitude, rocking buildings, triggering fresh landslides causing people to flee from already-damaged buildings.
"Everyone is so tense. As soon as anything starts to shake, you run out. It's really frightening," office cleaner Ms Sonia Calderon said.
Following Saturday's 7.6-magnitude quake that partly or totally destroyed about 38,000 homes, emergency workers were confident they could ferry supplies to thousands of Salvadorans stranded without homes in isolated towns and villages.
"I think things are working quite well because relief got here earlier [than other recent natural disasters in Latin America]," said a US Army helicopter pilot who has been ferrying supplies and rescue teams across El Salvador.
President Francisco Flores said yesterday that international aid had arrived quickly enough for an adequate response to the country’s worst earthquake in at least a decade.
"It's all about saving lives now. We have to help the people most at risk," said Mr Flores who added that the death toll was likely to increase hourly.
He has asked for 3,000 coffins from abroad.
Meanwhile, geologists say the frequent aftershocks are a sign the ground is settling. "It means energy is gradually being released from below the surface. It's better to have a thousand aftershocks of a lesser magnitude than another single large event," said Mr Jorge Rodriguez, a government geologist.
The quake, whose epicenter was off the Pacific coast, about 65 miles southeast of the capital, was felt as far north as Mexico City. Guatemalan officials said six had died as a result of the quake.
Reuters