Westport, CT (October 4, 2005) -- Save the Children is working closely with authorities in El Salvador to assist thousands of families forced from their homes by heavy rains and mudslides from a tropical storm as well as by recent activity from Santa Ana, the country's largest volcano, which erupted for the first time in one hundred years early Saturday morning.

The two natural disasters, both hitting the country over the weekend, have killed at least 17 people, destroyed many homes as well as thousands of acres of coffee. The government has put much of the country on red alert and ordered more than 7,000 families near the volcano to evacuate.

Save the Children is providing displaced families water, sanitary towels, diapers and children’s clothes at shelters.

"The volcanic eruption took place on the north side of the volcano, the opposite side where we have our programs," said Catherine Kennedy, field office director for Save the Children in El Salvador.

"We are working with the national emergency committee and local health officials to assist families and children in shelters," she said, adding, "Families in all nearby communities have been asked to move to the shelters as a precaution, including two communities in which we work.”

Kennedy added that torrential rains from a tropical storm have caused landslides and massive flooding across the country, killing at least 15 people and putting thousands of additional families and children at risk.

Save the Children has worked in El Salvador on behalf of children and their families for 26 years, with a special focus on improving children’s health and education.