A state of emergency has been declared in the Atacama and Antofagasta regions where two people have died and twenty two are missing. The conditions are severe; 40,000 people are reported to be without drinking water, 53,500 without electricity and people have been asked to self-evacuate. Further heavy rainfall is likely to worsen conditions and the United Nations team anticipates it will require help with needs and damage assessments.
Concurrently, MapAction has also sent a second rotation of personnel to Vanuatu. The team’s role will be to finalise the organisation’s support in Vanuatu and handover to the United Nations and national mapping focal points.
About MapAction
MapAction is a charity that provides life-saving information about disaster situations in the form of maps. It is the only non-governmental organisation (NGO) anywhere in the world with a capacity to deploy a fully trained and equipped humanitarian mapping and information management team, often within a few hours of an alert. Its highly-skilled volunteers play a vital role in helping to coordinate the national and international emergency response by gathering information such as:
• Which communities are in the greatest need?
• What are their priority needs?
• How can aid agencies best reach them?
MapAction’s aim is to help to get aid delivered quickly and effectively to the people who need it most. www.mapaction.org
