Chinese rescuers have been providing relief supplies and teaching epidemic prevention knowledge to residents in the Ecuadorian town of Canoa. The rescuers are from government and private organizations, as well as Chinese enterprises in Ecuador.
Nearly 85 percent of the houses collapsed and more than 2,000 households affected. Canoa is one of the worst hit areas in the quake. There has been no supply of water and electricity for almost a week, and locals are in desperate need of daily necessities.
"This is the arrival of the first batch of relief materials here. They brought rice, sugar, drinking water, and canned food, which are all what we urgently need now," said Canoa resident Margarita Miranda.
"We hope that we will receive more relief supplies because unluckily all of our homes either collapsed or were badly damaged," Canoa resident Alfredo Mendono said.
Apart from sending relief materials, disease prevention is another major task. The temperature has been above 30 Celsius in the region, bringing the threat of an epidemic outbreak.
"There are many rotten bodies, which are stinking and breeding viruses. When we arrived here, local doctors told us that the situation is very bad, and that they are short of disinfection liquid and equipment. We have divided the area into sections, and we are clearing them one after another every day. Tomorrow we want to ask more locals and Chinese volunteers to cooperate with us," said Wang Gang, member of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.
They fear rain could worsen the situation, as mosquitoes are likely to breed more quickly, and water sources may be polluted.
"The underground water in the whole region is circulating. The intrusion of pollution sources will make the underground water undrinkable. If an epidemic breaks out, it would spread very fast, and thousands would have diarrhea due to the polluted water," said Wang Yingjie, member of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.
Chinese rescuers say they will continue the relief supply and education of epidemic prevention knowledge in the worst-hit areas until the local government completes relocation of residents and removal of debris.
