Another earthquake, registering 6.6 on the Richter scale, has traumatized El Salvador exactly one month after a major earthquake killed more than 800 people and left thousands more homeless. The greatest damage was done in the regions of Cuscatlan, La Paz, and San Vicente. Hundreds of heartbreaking scenes are once again taking place as aftershocks rock the country, reports Dr. Carlos Guandique, country director for Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), El Salvador.

Guandique, a physician, was among the staff on ADRA’s mobile medical van who responded immediately following the earthquake. The medical team has dealt primarily with broken bones, including collarbones, ribs, and legs. Because hospitals have been damaged, ADRA medical vans are stationed in Cojutepeque and San Vicente. In the first hours of response, ADRA mobilized more than 850 volunteers and hopes to place another 1,150.

ADRA El Salvador is working with the National Emergency Committee (COEN) to determine how to most effectively aid survivors. ADRA volunteers with search and rescue experience from the first earthquake have been transported in teams by the El Savadoran Air Force to look for trapped people in 12 towns. During the first day, they rescued 30 people and cleared rubble from dead bodies.

Reports about the second earthquake state that nationwide 283 people have died and that more than 2,432 are injured. Hospitals and schools were damaged, with approximately 45,000 homes damaged or destroyed.