Earthquake volunteers, Paracas

Earthquake volunteers, Paracas

On August 15, 2007 an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale devastated the Peruvian city of Pisco, and the surrounding areas. Over 650,000 people were affected by the disaster, which left more than 100,000 people homeless.

Many of the homes, including this one in Paracas, a small city about 15 minutes by road from Pisco, were built of a local mudbrick known as ‘adobe’. Many of the structures which remained standing after the earthquake needed to be demolished, including this one.

The volunteers in this image were working with Hands On Disaster Response and came to Pisco specifically to help people who’d been affected by earthquake. Day after day, week after week, month after month, they cleared the rubble from the fallen buildings and helped demolish those which were no longer safe and needed to be removed. These same volunteers also helped to build temporary houses and classrooms and assisted other agencies in many different projects.

Volunteers came from many countries, and those in this picture alone were from Canada, the USA, New Zealand and England.


All artist proceeds from sale of this work will be donated to Hands On Disaster Response. For more information about this organisation please visit their website

Earthquake volunteers, Paracas belongs to the following groups:

Art for Aid, Art from the Workplace, Canada, Current Issues, Dilapidated Buildings, Silhouettes , Street Photography and Photojournalism and The Urban Environment