CRS allocates $100,000 for Iranian earthquake assistance

Published: 2003-12-29

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Catholic Relief Services has allocated $100,000 for emergency assistance to help victims of the earthquake in Iran. More than 25,000 people were reported killed in the Dec. 26 quake in the ancient city of Bam. Iranian officials believed the death toll may rise above 40,000. CRS said the aid will be used to provide emergency food, medical care and other life-saving assistance, according to an agency statement. CRS staff will assist agency partners in distributing the aid. "In addition to unimaginable sorrow, right now the people in Bam and the surrounding areas are struggling to provide for even their most basic needs, as food, water, medicines, shelter and warmth are all in short supply," said Ken Hackett, CRS president. CRS' efforts will concentrate in Bam, where approximately 70 percent of the ancient city's mud structures were destroyed when the earthquake struck, leaving tens of thousands homeless, the statement said.

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