Earthquakes Shatter Areas of El Salvador

Here's the problem:

A lot of El Salvador's land is made of "tuff" which is compressed volcanic ash. (There have been many volcanos in El Salvador over past millennia.)

Alas this tuff is not tough!
When earthquakes take place (usually every 20 years or so), the ground becomes very unstable.

The area of El Salvador we visited experienced two severe earthquakes this year -- one on January 13th and one on February 13th, 2001.

In Santa Tecla, for example, one mountainside collapsed and buried over 900 homes in a five block area.
A road is cut through a hill exposing "tuff" -- which is anything but!
This is the hill in Santa Tecla that collapsed earlier this year, destroying a whole neighborhood.

We spent Sunday in Chalchuapa at this home for girls who had been abused or abandoned by their parents.
(Some lost their parents in the war.)

Much of the home had so much damage that it they cannot live in these sections.

 
Thanks to overseas donations, this part of the home for girls is being rebuilt.
Visitor