Local students are helping residents of El Salvador who are reeling from the effects of an earthquake that ripped through the Central America country almost two weeks ago.

The South Halls Residence Association (SHRA) collected money for the last two days in the living area to aid victims of the Jan. 13 quake.

Members of SHRA said they did not want the victims to be forgotten.

"With the India quake that occurred last weekend, we did not want the people of El Salvador to get lost in the shuffle," said Deborah Koplin (sophomore-psychology), SHRA's philanthropy chair. "The quake was equally horrific as the one in India."

The earthquake registered a 7.6 magnitude and set off a landslide that left 700 dead and over 160,000 homeless. According to the American Red Cross Web site www.redcross.org, the quake buried complete neighborhoods under mud and rocks.

Its effects could also be felt in Honduras and Guatemala and caused buildings to sway in Mexico City.

Members of the association asked students to donate spare change in booths set up in both Simmons and McElwain Halls. The group collected $45 on Tuesday, which is almost 10 percent of one woman's annual income in El Salvador, Koplin said.

"It doesn't sound like a lot but it really can have an enormous effect," Koplin said.

SHRA is working in collaboration with the Red Cross, which has launched a major relief effort and is sending money, supplies and workers to El Salvador.

The money will be sent to the local office and forwarded to the national headquarters, said Ruth Markle, community resources director of the Centre Communities ARC.

"I think it's great that students are proactive and have contacted us," Markle said.

According to the National Earthquake Information Center, quakes with a magnitude of 7.0 and higher are classified as major earthquakes.

Any earthquake greater than seven usually does substantial damage and takes many lives, said Kevin Furlong, professor of geosciences.

"Compared to the earthquake that occurred in North Ridge, Calif. a few years ago, the quake in El Salvador was about 10 times bigger," Furlong said. "The quake would have been worse if it didn't occur offshore in the ocean."