April 18--Local restaurant owner Ernesto Correa was relieved to find out that none of his relatives were injured in a massive earthquake that struck Ecuador on Saturday.
Correa, one of the owners of La Humita restaurant in Irving Park who learned about the quake from customers, said Sunday that his mother's cousins' house in Guayaquil was damaged from the quake.
"I feel very sensitive and very bad for a small country for this to happen," Correa said.
The magnitude-7.8 earthquake is the strongest to hit Ecuador in decades. It flattened buildings, killing at least 246 people and injuring more than 2,500. That toll is likely to rise because a large number of people remain unaccounted for, The Associated Press reported.
Chicago organizations are joining a myriad of groups coming to Ecuador's aide.
The Consulate General of Ecuador in Chicago is sending out fliers that provide information on how to donate money to the United Nations Development Programme and other official organizations that are assisting with relief.
"The damage is considerable," said Carlos Lenin Housse Davalos, consul of Ecuador in Chicago. "We are looking for rescue teams who can go out on assignment and provide equipment for the rescue teams to locate survivors. We are also working on the local level with the mechanisms in place."
Housse warns people interested in making donations to go through official sources to avoid fake organizations that will end up pocketing money intended for relief.
The Ecuadorian Volunteers Association in Naperville is also collecting relief funds, according to President Graciela Chediak. They are in contact with organizations in Ecuador and will evaluate the best ways to use the funds and vet the organizations that will receive them.
gwong@tribpub.com
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