USAID Provides Earthquake Assistance to Chile

WASHINGTON, May 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have provided $80,000 to assist the Chilean geological agency SERNAGEOMIN to monitor current volcanic conditions at the Chaiten volcano.

On May 2, the Chaiten volcano, located 760 miles south of the capital city of Santiago, began to erupt and spew molten rock and ash, after being dormant for 173 years. In response, the Government of Chile issued a red alert, forcing people living within a 30-mile radius of the volcano to evacuate. As of May 14, local authorities had evacuated approximately 8,000 people living near the volcano. The most affected areas include the cities of Chaiten, Futuleufu, El Amarille, and Chana.

In response to the volcano eruption, U.S. Ambassador to Chile Paul E. Simons offered the Government of Chile assistance through the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP).

As of May 9, SERNAGEOMIN was monitoring eruptive activity using four seismic stations near the volcano. The technology at these stations requires that a person travel to the stations to collect data on the volcano. With funding from USAID, VDAP will install new telemetered seismic stations and assist SERNAGEOMIN with data interpretation. In addition, on May 16, VDAP sent a three-person team of experts to Chile to assist with station and telemetry installation and to provide support with data interpretation.

USAID will continue to monitor the situation and coordinate with the Government of Chile.

For more information about USAID's emergency humanitarian assistance programs, please visit: www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/disaster_assistance/.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.

Public Information: 202-712-4810

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Source: U.S. Agency for International Development

CONTACT: USAID Press Office, +1-202-712-4320

Web Site: http://www.usaid.gov/

2008-05-16 18:25:19 0364395 PRNEWSWIRE