Authorities say hundreds of victims from Wednesday night's 7.9-magnitude quake are still trapped or stranded in coastal cities. Roads destroyed by the quake have hampered rescue efforts. Many buildings collapsed or suffered structural damage, including hospitals now overrun with victims in need of treatment.

President Alan Garcia declared a state of emergency Thursday morning, prompting international relief efforts. The situation has the potential to worsen if displaced credit union members and others do not receive necessary assistance.
WOCCU currently has a development program working with Peruvian credit unions to provide financial services to the rural poor. FENACREP is a long-time WOCCU member, with 163 member credit unions and 606,000 members.

World Council has led disaster relief and rebuilding efforts in response to past disasters such as the Asian tsunami in December 2004 and the Philippines landslide in February 2006. Following the tsunami, World Council led a US$1.5 million project to rebuild credit unions in Sri Lanka and to revitalize the national credit union league. Following the Philippines landslide in Leyte, World Council supported the local league’s administration of “livelihood loans,” small micro loans that helped credit union members and staff rebuild their homes and businesses.