PERU: Despair turns to frustration and anger in Peru in aftermath of Earthquake

Earthquake victims of Peru's worst quake in three decades struggle to resume normal life, as looting begins amid dearth of aid. The embers of a fire at a makeshift campsite in Pisco was a symbol of the fate of hundreds of residents left homeless by Wednesday's (August 15) devastating earthquake which left 510 dead. Thousands spent a second night sleeping in the streets. This is just one of the thousands of homes damaged or destroyed in the aftermath of the 8.0 magnitude earthquake in Pisco, one of the worst affected cities. The Puno family house was virtually destroyed in the quake. "Everything is ruined. My whole house, everything, is destroyed. Everything," said Maria Luisa Puno. For families like this, aid has been slow in coming and the insecurity is a torment as aftershocks - some as strong as 6.0 - continue to rattle the area. "There have been some today as well, at five in the morning. There have been aftershocks. It frightens us," said Maria Luisa Puno. Food is now the main concern for the survivors. One shack selling bread was mobbed by hungry survivors on Friday morning. "The stores don't want to sell anything either. They are saving their stocks of food. We are in a situation in which money doesn't matter. We want help, we want food. We want them to give us vegetables to prepare. Our children are hungry," said Pedro Valencia. In some places, the despair was fast turning to frustration. On a devastated stretch of the Pan-American highway, survivors of the quake took matters into their hands - looting an abandoned food truck. The government has defended its response to the disaster, saying it is stepping up the effort and trying to reach survivors with food aid and medical relief.

ITN Source | August 18, 2007

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