**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

In Los Angeles:
Margaret Aguirre
Director of Global Communications
310.826.7800
310.430.3215- cell
maguirre@imcworldwide.org

In Washington, DC:
Rebecca Milner
VP, Institutional Advancement
(202) 828.5155 - office
(202) 340.1476 – cell
rmilner@imcworldwide.org

In Chicago:
Crystal Wells
Communications Officer
(617) 913.0794 - cell
cwells@imcworldwide.org

International Medical Corps Emergency Response Team on Standby as it

Monitors Situation in Chile and Potential Tsunami Areas

Los Angeles, February 27, 2010 - International Medical Corps is monitoring the situation
in Chile and in areas in the Pacific basin where tsunami warnings have been issued,
following an 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck early Saturday.

Emergency Response Teams are preparing to deploy to Chile and potential tsunami
areas, and are gathering the necessary medicines and supplies.

The quake struck at 3:34 a.m. local time and was centered about 70 miles from
Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city, at a depth of 22 miles. There were early reports
of about 120 deaths, with the toll expected to rise. It downed buildings and houses in
Santiago, about 200 miles away.

According to CNN, the earthquake in Chile was more powerful than the 7.0 quake that
struck Haiti on Jan 12, killing at least 230,000.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for Chile and Peru, and a less-
urgent tsunami watch for Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica.
Hawaii sounded tsunami-warning sirens as well.

International Medical Corps was on the ground in Haiti, treating patients, within 22 hours
of that disaster. Today, teams are treating 1,000 patients a day throughout the
earthquake-affected areas.

Chile is relatively well-equipped to respond to natural disaster and had deployed teams
to Haiti to assist.

International Medical Corps' Emergency Response draws on 25 years experience in

emergency settings, including last September's earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia, the
massive 2005 earthquake in Pakistan and the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Donate to
International Medical Corps by visiting www.imcworldwide.org.

International Medical Corps relieves the suffering of those impacted by war, natural
disaster and disease by delivering vital health care services that focus on training,
helping devastated populations return to self-reliance.