LDS Church provides for Columbian earthquake victims
(BYU) Daily Universe 27Jan99
By Holly Durfey: NewsNet Staff Writer

The LDS Church is ramping up its humanitarian assistance system to help victims of the earthquake in Colombia. The 6.0 earthquake hit an area 170 kilometers west of Bogota on Monday.

The Church has three chapels in Colombia that are being used as shelters for as many as 300 Colombians left homelsss after the quake. And the Church's regional welfare committee in Bogota is distributing tents, clothes, food and water in the area. The regional organization, like all Church welfare committees, had supplies ready to go and the equipment needed to help victims.

Because the regional committee is prepared, the Church headquarters in Salt Lake City is not providing help at this time. The Church has 125,000 members in Colombia, which is in the Church's South America North Area.

Missionaries in the area are reported to be safe and any supplies they may need will be shipped in from the surrounding area as needed. "(The missionaries)will roll up their sleeves and see what needs to be done," said Church spokesman Dan Rascon. Missionaries affected are in the Cali Colombia Mission.

Missionaries scheduled to leave the Provo, Utah Missionary Training Center will not be delayed because the airport and facilities in Bogota are operating normally.