Within minutes of tweeting, the British Red Cross website was inundated by Coldplay fans wanting to donate to the Chile Earthquake Appeal. This led to a huge spike in traffic to the charity’s website, with a 400 per cent increase in hits in just 15 minutes.
For more information on the British Red Cross please visit: redcross.org.uk and to donate to the British Red Cross Chile Earthquake Appeal go to redcross.org.uk/chileearthquake
Coldplay are currently touring in Latin America and are performing later this week in Mexico. Their tour hasn’t taken them to Chile but the official site stated that “the band have been extremely saddened by reports of the terrible earthquake which hit the country on 27 February 2010.”
The British Red Cross launched the Chile Earthquake Appeal on 1st March 2010 to support survivors and the work of the Chilean Red Cross. This followed an immediate transfer of £50,000 from the British Red Cross Disaster Fund to the Chile Red Cross. Following on from the initial earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale, the region has experienced over 120 aftershocks, the largest registering 6.9 on the Richter scale.
The Chilean Red Cross are taking part in search and rescue operations and providing first aid. Aerial assessments are taking place and Chile Red Cross staff and volunteers are broadcasting public service announcements on how to react to aftershocks and are appealing to the public to donate blood.
Pictures of Coldplay at Morumbi Stadium, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2nd March 2010):
Photos by Ricardo Cardim
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