American Red Cross Pledges $250,000 for Relief Operations

in Chile


Now Accepting Donations Specifically for Response and Recovery in Chile

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 –The American Red Cross has increased its pledge to $250,000 for relief operations in Chile following Saturday's 8.8 magnitude earthquake; and we stand ready to mobilize additional support, including relief supplies, trained personnel and additional financial assistance. The Red Cross is also now accepting donations specifically for response and recovery in Chile.
 
Chilean officials report that more than 2 million people have been affected by the earthquake, 500,000 homes have been seriously damaged and approximately 1.5 million houses may have sustained damage. It is believed that adobe structures and indigenous populations were among the worst affected.

Communications and electricity are progressively being restored in Santiago but still remains out in the hardest hit areas. This has significantly affected hospitals and health centers especially in the cities of Concepcion, Talca and Curico where many hospitals are unable to function. The government will install field hospitals and will launch a health campaign.

In Santiago, the country’s capital, the international airport is reported to have sustained damages, but has reopened. Major ports have also been damaged and bridges connecting the central regions of the country have collapsed limiting access to the affected regions.

The International Federation of the Red Cross on Tuesday launched a preliminary emergency appeal of $6.4 million to all Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in order to assist the Chilean Red Cross. As a result of this request, the American Red Cross is now accepting donations specifically for response and recovery in Chile. We will accept designated donations sent by texting the word “CHILE” to 90999 for a $10 gift; online gifts to redcross.org; and toll-free calls to 1-800-RED CROSS.  People can also call 1-800-257-7575 to make a donation in Spanish. 

As has been our longstanding practice, we honor donor intent and we welcome donors who wish to designate their gifts or donors who wish to provide unrestricted funds.

For inquiries about relatives living and who have citizenship in Chile, we urge you to contact them by telephone, monitor their social networking profiles or contact other family members who live nearby. Telephone, Internet and other communication lines are often disrupted in times of disaster. People trying to locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Chile should contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or 202-647-5225.