Earthquake in Peru hits the poorest the hardest
It has almost been a week since a 7,9 earthquake hit the coast just South of Lima, Peru. People in the Lima area were for the most part just terrified for a few days, as the earthquake shook the ground violently, and this was followed with over 20 aftershocks. Friends who witnessed the large temblor describe seeing the ‘waves’ or ripples of the tremor on the ground as it was happening. Luckily a large part of the buildings in the Lima area were constructed, to some extent, within building codes that call for earthquake proof buildings.
Unfortunately, the region about 200 kilometres South of Lima was not as fortunate. Most of the construction in this area is made without the proper construction materials for an earthquake-prone area. It is in this area, where the population is mostly made of agricultural workers, that the damage and deathtoll has been most significant. As seems to be often the case, it is the poorest who seem to lose the most. These are people who have lost everything, as they do not have any type of insurance on their poorly built homes, they likely have no savings, and likely all their support network of family and friends have suffered. It is these people who need help right now. One was you can donate to the Peru earthquake’s relief is through the Red Cross (www.redcross.ca). Let’s hope that help gets there fast.
Maria
