El Salvador appeals for rescue equipment, disaster aid

Quake leaves more than 400 dead, up to 1,300 missing

In this story: Hopes fading as time passes Victims treated in tents Blankets, tents and water RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- The race is on to find and rescue survivors in the wake of a major Central American earthquake that left more than 400 people dead, 779 injured and as many as 1,300 missing. (Map of the region)

"These are the main priorities right now: to rescue those people who have been buried basically since yesterday, also to have all the medical supplies and emergency equipment that we need to finish that job and also to take good care of people who have been hurt," Ambassador Rene Leon said Sunday at the El Salvadoran embassy in Washington.

VIDEO CNN's Suzanne Kelly reports that many people remain hopeful more survivors will be found (January 14) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Glenn Van Zutphen reports on the damage and the rising death toll (January 14) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Watch video of the rescue efforts in San Salvador (January 13) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     DONATIONS To make donations to help quake victims call: (in English:) 1-800-HELP-NOW 1-800-435-7669 (in Spanish:) 1-800-257-7575 (Dial 00 before number if calling from outside U.S.)   MAGNITUDE GUIDE Below is an interactive guide to earthquake magnitude and severity: Magnitude: Less than 3.5 3.5 - 5.4 Under 6.0 6.1 - 6.9 7.0 - 7.9 8 or greater IN-DEPTH Earthquakes of the 20th Century   MESSAGE BOARD Central America

Red Cross officials also appealed Sunday for equipment and monetary donations.

"Two things that the Salvadoran Red Cross and we don't have in the warehouses is hand equipment to help dig out victims, and medical supplies that apparently are in short supply," Israel Zuniga, the Red Cross regional director, told CNN late Sunday.

He also said some 2,000 volunteers are getting aid to the people, even using private vehicles to distribute "comfort kits," blankets and plastic sheeting.

The kits contain personal hygiene items such as deodorant, body powder, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs and wash cloths. The plastic is used in tent-like fashion to provide shelter against the elements.

Zuniga said a team flying into hardest-hit El Salvador reported that damage from landslides was sporadic, and he said that most roads were open from Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

Pope John Paul II also urged other countries to send assistance to the areas of El Salvador and Guatemala hit by Saturday's quake, which had a magnitude of 7.6 at its epicenter, about 65 miles (110 kilometers) south-southwest of San Miguel, El Salvador. Tremors from the quake were felt from Panama to central Mexico.

Efforts to quickly get aid to devastated areas of El Salvador -- a country about the size of Massachusetts -- had been difficult because some roads were blocked by mudslides. Also, the country's main airport was closed due to damage to the control tower and concerns about structural damage to the runways, Leon said.

He said another challenge was bolstering the country's infrastructure so that further aftershocks would not cause more damage.

Salvadoran President Francisco Flores has declared a state of emergency in the country of 6.2 million people.

The small neighborhood of Santa Tecla outside El Salvador was virtually buried by the quake. Some 500 homes disappeared under what one survivor called "a wave of dirt."

"We have detected a sound coming from below," rescue worker Mario Jimenez said Sunday. "This means there are possibilities there are people trapped and alive. We are trying to get them out."

Body-sniffing dogs, sent by Mexico and the United States, roamed across the neighborhood, but hope grows smaller as time passes.

"There was more hope yesterday than today ... it's more difficult now," said Clarise Lopez, whose aunt was missing. "All we have left to do is look for them."

Hundreds of emergency workers and volunteers worked alongside huge cranes to shovel dirt from around collapsed homes in a sea of mud, tree limbs and rubble while dazed survivors milled around the mounds where their homes once stood.

"I'll be honest, I have no hope of finding him alive," Oscar Lopez said of his 10-year-old son, Javier, as he sat atop the rubble of his home.

Rescue workers said as many as 70 people were also under fallen homes in Comasagua in La Libertad.

Aftershocks have rattled rescuers and the now-homeless survivors. About 500 aftershocks, most imperceptible but some fierce, have been recorded since Saturday's midday quake.

Many people spent Saturday night outside their homes. About 1,340 people have been evacuated to shelters and hundreds were injured, according to Mauricio Ferrer, director of the emergency committee.

The quake also knocked down walls at some hospitals, forcing doctors and nurses to move the injured outside.

Daisy de Beltran, an administrator at San Salvador's Rosales Hospital, said the hospital was stretched to capacity and an overflow of patients had to be treated in tents set up on its grounds.

"The waiting room here is full," Beltran said. "We are in total emergency."

About 40 or 50 local and international tourists were believed trapped on a volcano on the outskirts of the city and rescuers were trying to reach them, said Mauricio Ferrer, director of the emergency committee.

The United States, Mexico, Switzerland, Spain and Venezuela were among the first countries to mobilize relief efforts for El Salvador. International aid, including money, medical supplies and wool blankets, was starting to flow in.

The United States sent a Disaster Assistance Response Team and critical supplies Sunday. The emergency aid, coordinated by the U.S. Agency for International Development, included 25,000 pounds of blankets, medical kits, drinking water and plastic tarps for makeshift shelters.

Zuniga said the Guatemalan emergency management agency sent a helicopter early Sunday over the southwestern part of Guatemala and part of El Salvador to assess the damage.

The U.S. Embassy in San Salvador, El Salvador, was making helicopters available to help with flyovers, he said.

Switzerland has sent an initial contribution of emergency aid worth $100,000 to the disaster victims, the Swiss Development Aid agency said on Sunday. The Swiss Red Cross said it would provide an initial 100,000 Swiss francs ($61,650) for emergency aid to help its sister organization in El Salvador, and the Caritas Schweiz aid group also pledged 100,000 francs.

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