-- Category 5 hurricane surging toward Yucatan Peninsula

PORTLAND, Ore - As Hurricane Dean threatens to make landfall in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula tonight, the global humanitarian agency Mercy Corps is preparing to rush relief to families in the path of the storm. The organization is accepting donations, and is partnering with Washington D.C.-based Partners of the Americas to respond to survivors' needs.

"We've seen the incredible needs in the immediate aftermath of such a strong hurricane," said Susan Romanski, Mercy Corps' director of disaster risk reduction, noting that in recent years the agency has shipped relief to survivors of hurricanes in Guatemala, Honduras and the U.S. Gulf Coast. "We hope for the best but plan for the worst, so we will work closely with Partners of the Americas to help start meeting immediate needs as they arise."

The hurricane brushed southern Jamaica Sunday night as a Category 4, sparing the country from the brunt of the impact. However, Hurricane Dean has now reached dangerous Category 5 strength, with sustained winds of more than 155 miles per hour, as it makes its way across the Caribbean.

Partners of the Americas is staffed along the peninsula, and is pre-positioning staff and supplies just north of Belize in the Yucatan state capital city of Merida. Mercy Corps is also monitoring the situation throughout Mexico and nearby Belize and Honduras.

Mercy Corps is already working with Partners of the Americas to provide relief following last week's 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Peru. Together, the organizations are distributing water purification tablets, and are staffing up to assess needs for medicines, tents, tools, first-aid kits and other essential items for families trying to recover from the strongest earthquake to hit Peru in decades.

Mercy Corps chose Partners of the Americas because of their excellent reputation and extensive volunteer network in the region. Founded in 1964, they are the largest volunteer-based organization in the Western Hemisphere engaged in social, economic and cultural development.

Mercy Corps has worked in Latin America for more than 20 years. The agency currently operates humanitarian programs in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Colombia. Mercy Corps responded to Hurricane Stan in Guatemala in 2005, and Hurricane Mitch in Honduras and Nicaragua in 1998. The agency is also preparing to mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina along the U.S. Gulf Coast, where programs continue to promote deconstruction over demolition, neighborhood revitalization and small-business development.

HOW TO HELP:

Mercy Corps Hurricane Dean Fund Dept. NR PO Box 2669 Portland, Oregon 97208 www.mercycorps.org 800.852.2100

Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against nearly impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided $1.3 billion in assistance to people in 100 nations. Supported by headquarters offices in North America, Europe and Asia, the agency's unified global programs employ 3,400 staff worldwide and reach nearly 14.4 million people in more than 35 countries. For more information, visit www.mercycorps.org.