Peru earthquake damages churches, schools

Perumap

Peru earthquake damages churches, schools

Ica, Peru | ANN Staff

More than 500 dead, 1,600 injured in magnitude-8 quake

Locals are struggling with recovery and grief after being displaced from their homes. [photo: courtesy SAD]
Locals are struggling with recovery and grief after being displaced from their homes. [photo: courtesy SAD]

ADRA volunteers sort through the rubble of buildings destroyed by the earthquake. Along with other aid organizations, ADRA Peru is helping to meet the needs of survivors, including emergency medical care, water, food, tents and blankets. Adventist churches in the region are serving as supply collection and distribution centers. [photo: courtesy ADRA Peru]
ADRA volunteers sort through the rubble of buildings destroyed by the earthquake. Along with other aid organizations, ADRA Peru is helping to meet the needs of survivors, including emergency medical care, water, food, tents and blankets. Adventist churches in the region are serving as supply collection and distribution centers. [photo: courtesy ADRA Peru]

A man surveys demolished storefronts in earthquake-hit Chincha, Peru. Many Adventist schools, churches and homes are among the buildings destroyed by the August 15 offshore quake. [photo: courtesy ADRA Peru]
A man surveys demolished storefronts in earthquake-hit Chincha, Peru. Many Adventist schools, churches and homes are among the buildings destroyed by the August 15 offshore quake. [photo: courtesy ADRA Peru]

One of several Adventist churches damaged by the earthquake. [photo: courtesy SAD]
One of several Adventist churches damaged by the earthquake. [photo: courtesy SAD]

Seventh-day Adventists are struggling with recovery and grief while assisting survivors after a magnitude-8 earthquake struck off the coast of Peru 90 miles southeast of the capital, Lima, on August 15.

The earthquake has killed at least 500 people and left more than 1,600 injured throughout the coastal region, according to reports issued by Peruvian Civil Defense authorities.

Church officials in the region said three church members are among the dead and that the earthquake destroyed some 400 church members’ homes. Many Adventist schools and churches are also reported damaged.

The Peruvian government has declared a state of emergency in Ica, a coastal province located 165 miles south of Lima, and the most heavily affected region with many homes and buildings demolished.

Maranatha Volunteers International, an Adventist Christian organization that constructs urgently-needed buildings around the world, said construction materials commonly used in Peru—including plywood, plastic and mud bricks—seldom withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes. Five Maranatha-constructed church structures in the affected region are lending shelter to families who lost their homes during the earthquake.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Peru has initiated a response to meet the most urgent needs of survivors in the earthquake-hit Ica province, including emergency medical care, water, food, tents and blankets. Adventist churches in the region are serving as supply collection and distribution centers.

ADRA, in cooperation with other relief agencies in Peru, will continue to assess the situation and meet the changing needs of survivors in the aftermath of the earthquake. Updates will be released as response efforts expand.