Gujarat, India Facts:

• Gujarat is an industrialized state in western India, on the Arabian Sea. It is comprised of almost all of the Kathiawar peninsula, the desolate Rann (marsh) of Kachchh, and the districts of Vadovara, Baruch, Surat and the Dangs. The population is concentrated in the cities of Ahmadabad, Surat, Baroda, Bhavnagar, Rajkot and Jamnagar.
• Gujarat is the center of the Indian cotton-textile industry, and also produces electrical goods, automobiles, chemicals, and building materials. Wheat and cotton also are grown, and salt, limestone, manganese, calcite and bauxite are mined.
• The epicenter of the earthquake was in Bhuj, a town in northwestern Gujarat state with a population of 150,000. It is situated in the lowlands between the Rann and the Gulf of Kutch. It is a commercial center for wheat, barley, cattle, cotton and salt produced in the hinterland. Bhuj is the junction of several state highways and the terminus of a railroad, and it has an airport.

Currently in Gujarat:

• CARE is focusing its efforts on helping about 4,000 families in places where little assistance has reached.
• Food: CARE is preparing to distribute more than 15 metric tons of food per day to more than 20,000 people in the state of Gujarat.
• Shelter: CARE will distribute an emergency kit to each family. The kits include one tarpaulin, two floor mates, three blankets, 20 water purification tablets, a 10-litre water container and a lantern.

Background on CARE in India:

• In 1999, CARE was one of the major agencies responding to the Orissa cyclone, which ravaged the state, killing thousands and leaving 5 million homeless.
• In past emergencies, CARE was involved in flood relief in West Bengal (1979) and Orissa (1992), and worked in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh after a severe cyclone hit those states in 1977.
• CARE helped victims of earthquakes in Latur, Maharashtra and Chamoli, Uttar Pradesh and it is still assisting families in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh affected by the recent floods in those states.
• CARE's work in India began on March 6, 1950.
• CARE now implements long-term development projects in nutrition, health care, small enterprise development and basic and girls' education, as well as providing emergency relief as needed.
• CARE's offices in India have a staff of 475. They work in eight states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajastan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. CARE also works in the neighboring countries of Bangladesh and Nepal.