The Adventist Development and Assistance Resources Agency (ADRA Brasil) will assist the population of Amapá in the wake of the recent emergency decreed by the state government due to the blackout that has hit the region for five days. The incident left 13 of the 16 municipalities without power, which affects about 90% of the population.

In an initial response, the agency will provide water to 450 families while assessing other residents' needs. “We still have uncertainties about how best to help these people. Today, we know that families mainly need water and food. Our first response will go this way,” says André Alencar, ADRA Brasil's emergency coordinator.

The power outage started on Tuesday night, November 3, during a storm. According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, an explosion and, consequently, a fire, damaged the transformers in the most important substation in Macapá. The cause has not yet been identified.

As a result, several basic services such as ATMs, card machines, and gas station pumps have stopped working. Telephones, the Internet, and the hydraulic system are also down.

The emergency decree is valid for the next 90 days. For this reason, ADRA starts today, November 7, a fundraising campaign through its social networks.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church's humanitarian agency is present in more than 130 countries. In Brazil, it is organized into 13 regional offices covering 15 states. Alencar currently maintains an office in Pará, which is working to assist those affected in Amapá.

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site