Emergency Updates
Swine Flu (April 27, 2009)
Updated April 28, 2009
Updated May 5, 2009
Although there have been many positive
reports coming from Mexico
and around the world about the decline in infection rates and severity of the
H1N1 virus (Swine Flu), we continue to monitor the situation closely. At the
time of this posting, most organizations that have people in Mexico for study
abroad, religious missions, or similar programs have not canceled programs or
brought the participants home, but have limited public exposure by such means
as avoiding transportation or delaying departure for those in the U.S. ILP
will continue to monitor the situation and make changes as necessitated by the
conditions in Mexico.
The Mexican government reported that the
virus seems to have peaked on April 24th. Mexican schools, governmental
agencies and business are scheduled to open for “business as usual”on May 6th (the two LDS boarding schools will open as scheduled on May 11).
While the World Health Organization “advises no restriction on travel or
closure of borders” ILP will delay the group’s departure until the last
two weeks of May. We will continue to monitor the situation closely to
see if there is further guidance from our three “Watchtowers” (governmental
agencies, local coordinators and other organizations with participants in Mexico).
As long as the situation continues to improve
at its current rate and the situation does not dramatically change in the next
12 days we expect to provide everyone with a final date for departure on May
18th. The target date for departure is between May 21 and May 28.
Thank you for your patience as this is a rapidly developing situation. We
know you’re all anxious to get to Mexico as soon as possible and the
schools are naturally excited to have you arrive as soon as possible as well. ILP is anxious to make sure we’re taking proper
precautions to limit the possibility of infection while still providing a rewarding experience for each of you.
Please contact our office if you have any
specific questions about the group’s departure.
Updates will be posted at this page so check
back regularly.
Earthquake in Mexico (April 27, 2009)
A
6.0 magnitude earthquake centered in the State of Guerro was reported
today. Puebla is about 240km from the epicenter, but several people
reported feeling the quake in the province. There are no reports of
damage or injury in the State of Puebla at the current time. To see a
map of the center and it’s relation to Puebla and Tehuacan please visit
-
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/dyfi/events/us/2009fya9/us/index.html
Violence in Mexico (March 12, 2009)
The state department issued a travel alert on February 20, 2009 regarding increased violence in Mexico, particularly in relation to drug cartels. The travel alerts advise caution for travelers throughout Mexico but are more specifically focused on border towns and resort areas (during holidays) where the drug cartel activity is much higher. ILP does not currently work with any schools in or near border towns or resort areas. (For comparative purposes, the border towns where the violence is worst are closer to Salt Lake City, Utah than they are to cities where ILP teachers teach.) We will continue to watch the situation as always to see if the risks or dangers increase, but at the current time, we will continue to look to our three watchtowers: the state department, our native coordinators, and other organizations with American citizens in the country. At this time, none of these have given indication that justify canceling or curtailing programs in areas where ILP volunteers serve, despite the heightened media attention that the conditions have drawn.
Russia-Georgia War (August 8, 2008)
Russia started attacking military and civilian targets in Georgia on August 8th. We continue to look to our 3 watchtowers to determine the safety of continuing the program in Russia and Ukraine. We will continue to watch state department travel advisories, look to our native coordinators, and consult with other organizations to determine the safety of the volunteers in Russia and Ukraine. Although we will continue to monitor the situation and it may change any time, as of 14 August 2008, we have not received any information from any of the watchtowers that would lead us to cancel or change the fall 08 or future programs from travelling to Russia or Ukraine. Although there is no way to predict all the risks or possible dangers of any such conflict and we will continue to monitor the situation closely, ILP had teachers safely in Russia for several years during the 90s throughout the duration of a previous military conflict between Russia and the Russian republic of Chechnya.
China Earthquake (May 12, 2008)
As of May 12, 2008 all ILP groups in China were contacted and safely accounted for following the reported 7.8 magnitude earthquake centering near Chengdu. No injuries or damage has been reported. Some teachers felt the quake and others did not know about it until they read about it on the news. The school nearest the reported epicenter of the quake was more than several hundred miles away. One group had traveled through Chengdu during a vacation last week, but had returned safely to the school before the earthquake(s) occurred.