Contact: John Nduna Director, +41 22 791 6033, +41 79 203 6055 cell; Michelle Yonetani, Program Officer, +41 22 791 6035, +41 79 285 2916 cell; both with ACT

GENEVA, June 6 /Standard Newswire/ -- On 4 June a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.4 on the Richter Scale hit Ning’er County on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, southern Yunnan Province. The quake was the most serious for 28 years causing widespread damage in five counties with Ning’er county being the worst affected with all nine townships sustaining significant damage. Reliable statistics are not yet available but as of 5 June the death toll stands at three with 313 injured. More than 90,000 houses have collapsed and some 270,000 are damaged. 536,000 people have been affected and 180,000 evacuated. The quake damaged pipes, cutting off water supplies and communication lines were down.

Immediately following the disaster emergency work teams were sent to the area from the Civil Administration Department, the Earthquake Bureau and Heath Department to carry out needs assessment and provide most urgently needed assistance. Various organizations and companies are also active in the relief work and tents, clothes, plastic sheeting, quilts, water, rice, and medicines have been distributed to the affected.

Although the government and various organisations have released funds and provided relief materials the needs are still far greater than the assistance so far provided. Ning’er County is one of the poorest counties in China where most of the farmers live in houses constructed of wood and mud which are easily destroyed in an earthquake. Although more than 20,000 tents have been provided a large number of people remain homeless. There is also a serious lack of potable water and food in the affected areas.

ACT member Amity Foundation is currently planning to help meet the basic needs of 2,000 of the most vulnerable families that have been rendered homeless and who have not received any help from the government or other agencies. During the crisis phase it is planned to provide immediate assistance of rice, quilts and plastic sheeting to help meet the most urgent need of food and shelter. Assistance for reconstruction of 100 houses, two village schools and three irrigation systems is planned during the post crisis phase. The total estimated cost for this will be around US$ 212,000.

A Rapid Response Fund request and/or an appeal may be forthcoming. We would be grateful for any indication of funding available from the ACT alliance.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org).

Thank you for your attention.

ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.

The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.