Peruvian bishop says quake victims need food, water immediately

Published: 2007-08-17

LIMA, Peru (CNS) -- People left homeless by the magnitude 8 earthquake that struck Peru Aug. 15 face an immediate shortage of food and water, said Bishop Guido Brena Lopez of Ica, one of the cities hardest hit. "The situation is dramatic, because many houses have collapsed and many people have died. It's very difficult," Bishop Brena told Catholic News Service by telephone Aug. 16. More than 500 people are known to have been killed and 1,500 injured in the earthquake, which caused houses, shops and churches made of adobe to collapse. Rubble blocked streets in Chincha, Pisco and Ica, coastal towns along the Panamerican Highway between about 125 and 185 miles south of Lima, the Peruvian capital. "The only good thing was that it occurred a little after 6 p.m., and many people were in the streets, or were indoors but were able to get out," Bishop Brena said. "The immediate needs are food and water. The water supply depends on electricity, so if we have no electricity there will be no water," he said. "We need water, food, blankets and tents, because unfortunately not even the civil defense agency was prepared. People are sleeping in the streets and plazas."

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