02.08.2022

Earthquake: UEM communion supports with 30,000 euros

Infrastructure damage after the earthquake - here in a UCCP community in Northern Luzon; © Photo: UCCP

The Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and the United Evangelical Mission are supporting the diaconal emergency aid of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) for the victims of the earthquake of 28 July 2022 with emergency aid of 30,000 Euros. The epicentre of the earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter scale was in the north of the Philippine island of Luzon at a depth of ten kilometres. The effects of the earthquake were felt as far away as the capital Manila, more than 400 kilometres away.

According to the US television station CNN, at least five people have died and 130 people have been injured in the earthquake so far. The Philippine National Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management reports that more than 21,000 people have been directly affected by the earthquake. More than 400 houses, several schools, hospitals and bridges were damaged or destroyed. Infrastructure damage is estimated at US$ 687 million.

The UCCP, a member church of the UEM, is providing emergency aid and distributing food parcels to the affected households with an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people. The food packages contain rice, pulses, canned food, oil, sugar, salt, dried fish and bottled water. Torches will also be provided, as well as face masks and sanitation disinfectants. The UCCP also plans to provide psychosocial counselling in affected communities to help earthquake victims cope with trauma. In addition, the damaged and destroyed homes and churches will be rebuilt as soon as the government allows a return to the earthquake-damaged areas. For this purpose, the UCCP wants to provide the necessary building materials.

The UCCP church asks the UEM member churches for intercessory prayers for the victims of the disaster and for the relief efforts by their members, many of whom have been affected by the effects of the strong earthquake themselves.