International aid agency Oxfam has today allocated $1.55 million for initial emergency response to the earthquake which rocked southwestern China on Monday, May 13.
A team of aid workers are traveling to Wenchuan County in Sichuan?the quake?s epicenter?from their base in Kunming, Yunnan province. They will assess the damage and coordinate emergency relief work.
?This is the biggest earthquake in China for decades. Oxfam staff are now in contact with local government agencies and other partners in the affected areas and preparing for emergency response work,? said Lum Kwok Choi of Oxfam Hong Kong. ?Our initial assessment is that survivors of the earthquake are in need of clean water, food, medicine, clothing and blankets. Oxfam Hong Kong is urgently appealing for donations from the public. In the longer-term, it is clear that rehabilitation and reconstruction will be massive tasks.?
Oxfam Hong Kong operates community development projects in Gansu Province which has also been affected, and is most likely to do emergency work in Wen County, which was seriously hit.