Cold and wet weather have exacerbated poor sanitary conditions, speeding up the process of decomposition of dead bodies buried under several feet of rubble. The local water system has been damaged and most areas are without electricity. Food and medicine are available in the capital city of Bogota, some 140 miles east of the most affected cities of Armenia and Pereira. But little of these relief items have arrived to feed and care for more than one million people directly affected by the 6.0 earthquake. Fanny Gutierrez, World Vision Colombia's Operations Manager, reports that unburied bodies are beginning to decompose.
People wait in long lines to get water.
There is a growing sense of desperation, she reported. Health teams are needed to prevent the spread of disease and to treat the injured. Food and medicine are in urgent need as well as plastic sheeting for shelters. Clothing is not needed at this time. World Vision plans a relief response within the next 48 hours, aimed at villages outside of the cities of Armenia and Pereira.