February 14, 2001

Crying, pain, suffering, anguish, desperation: Tuesday February 13 at 8:22 a.m. time of El Salvador, exactly after a month from the earthquake of January 13, a strong telluric movement of 6.6 in the scale of Richter hit our country again, affecting mostly the departments of San Vicente, La Paz and Cuscatlán in the central area of the Republic.

Preliminary information tells us that the city of San Vicente is destroyed in a 50%: houses and their electric systems and of drinkable water. In the same way the city of Cojutepeque. There are towns in these jurisdictions that have been destroyed in a 90% as Guadalupe, Tecapán, Santa Cruz Analquito, Verapaz, Santa María Ostuma, San Emigdio, Candelaria and other more. Reports are of 270 deaths, 1700 injured, 2,200 destroyed houses and 21,000 homeless.

According to the experts, this was not a replica of the earthquake of January 13 but an earthquake of another nature whose epicentre is located in the area of San Pedro Nonualco. In this occasion, the more we have had is injured people, mostly children. The School of Candelaria collapsed burying students.

I am making a new call to all the Episcopal and Anglican Church of the world and to our friends, as well as good will people, so that they can help us. We need the solidarity of all of you to aid those that have been damaged. The most practical way is the financial assistance because we can assist this way quicker offering material, pastoral and psychological assistance. There are a lot of people suffering dramatic impacts and some have died because of heart attacks after the impact of the loss of relatives or for seeing their houses collapsed; what meant the efforts and savings of an entire life.

I was just preparing myself to submit this report that would tell on how we are getting ready for the reconstruction stage; we had already assisted the emergency of January 13, we had provided more than 26 thousand prepared meals, we had provided tools for the removal of brashes, we had given blankets, plastics, tents and we were guiding ourselves to the recovery to enter in full to the repairing and reconstruction of houses when we received this new catastrophe. We have to go back and assist this new emergency because population is demanding it from us this way and it is also our responsibility as human beings and as Christians.

Thank you again for the support that you have given us; we have received testimonies in prayers, in financial assistance from the whole Anglican Communion, from the Episcopal Church of the United States, from the Church of Japan, from the Church of England, from the Church of Taiwan, from the Church of the Central America Region, in short, from so many friends that we would like to personally send a message, and we will make it when we are more calmed. For the time being I request you not to forget to look again toward El Salvador; we need you, we need help, we need your prayers.

God bless you all,

The Rt. Rev. Martín Barahona

Episcopal Church of El Salvador