By Senabri Silvestre
SANTO DOMINGO. Dom. Rep. (AA) – The United Nations urged the international community to provide $73 million for three months of assistance to 350,000 victims of a devastating earthquake in Ecuador.
Diego Zorrilla, resident coordinator of the U.N. in Ecuador, made the call after describing the magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck the country’s northern coast April 16 as the biggest humanitarian catastrophe in the region since a tremor that hit Haiti in 2010.
“We have asked the international community for the amount of $73 million to address the priority humanitarian needs and help the government of Ecuador to cover them,” Zorilla said during a press conference Tuesday.
He said the U.N. has mobilized $7 million from a central fund to begin helping with the most immediate needs and as a down payment for the mobilization of resources.
“These funds are a first glimpse of the needs that we have seen in the early days but we are conducting a new evaluation to build new figures in the next two weeks,” he said.
The resources will be used for food security, emergency housing and non-food supplies, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and health, among other areas.
Zorilla congratulated Ecuador’s government for steps taken to galvanize international and national aid for the victims of the quake that has killed 655 victims, wounded 17,638 and left 29,067 in shelters, according to the latest official statistics.
At least 114 survivors have been rescued but 41 victims remain missing more than a week after the quake.
