Hot Off The Press
| Cincinnati, Ohio -- January 28, 1999 |
| 1. On 25 January 1999, an earthquake occurred at 18.19hours (GMT)
in Colombia: magnitude (according to local source) of 6.0 on the Richter Scale,
epicentre in the Department of Valle del Cauca, latitude 4.59 north and longitude 76.18
west. 2. The most affected cities are Armenia and Pereira. 3. According to information from the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bogota, preliminary estimates indicate 300 dead and 1,000 injured. 4. National relief efforts (Govermental authorities and the National Red Cross) were immediately launched from the capital of Bogota and the two major cities of Cali and Medellin. Only emergency personnel (relief and rescue teams) are allowed into the area, where a night curfew has been ordered. 5. Damage caused to housing and infrastructure is being evaluated. 6. So far, OCHA has not been advised of a request for international assistance. OCHA keeps monitoring the situation with the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator. 7. This Situation Report and further information on ongoing emergencies are also available on the OCHA Internet Website at:http:// www.reliefweb.int. Telephone number: + 41-22-917-1234 In case of emergency only: + 41 22 917 2010 Desk Officers: Mr. Erik Haegglund, direct tel: + 41-22-917-3299 and Mr. Carlos Monteiro-Pereira, direct tel: +41-22-917-1383 Contact person for the media: Ms. Elena Ponomareva, direct tel:+41-22-917-2336 Telex 41 42 42 ocha ch Fax: + 41 22 917 0023 E-mail: [email protected] 73, Tony AA8EI |