Levi Herdes was a man with the appearance of business. Especially after becoming the Chancellor of Esfalsa, he never seemed to cease the energetic, almost impatient manner in which he walked around, always with a notebook in one hand and plenty to busy his mind. On this morning, he strode around the Government Office scanning the headlines of a newspaper when his phone rang.

"There's been an earthquake in Qhichwa," the caller began. Herdes recognized the voice as his chief of staff, Lillian Hanchett.

Herdes was a man who enjoyed the company of numbers. "What magnitude?" he asked.

"7.8."

"Where was the epicenter?"

"Sixty kilometers from the capital."

"How many casualties?"

"We don't know. All telephone and internet lines are down, and the government is in no position to provide statistics. Expert estimates are that casualties are in the thousands and property damage in the billions."

Herdes had stopped and, sensing the urgency of the situation, turned around and headed towards his office. He called his aides, briefed them on the situation, and began delegating tasks. "I need a presidential memorandum authorizing relief efforts, and a speech to raise awareness about the crisis and our response. We can figure out the details later, but we'll need to ensure support in the Legislature first," he said over the phone.

Once finished, he proceeded to contact several key members of the Esfalsan Legislature. It was unlikely that relief efforts would face serious legislative opposition, but the Legislature could pause implementation of the memorandum while they considered and voted on it. Speed was of the essence.
 

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PRESS RELEASE
Chancellor Herdes Authorizes Emergency Relief in Response to Qhichiwan Earthquake
International Edition

Chancellor Levi Herdes today issued an executive memorandum authorizing emergency relief in response to the earthquake in the Qhichwa Republic, which recorded a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale.

"The size of this crisis cannot be underestimated," said Mr. Herdes said at the press conference concerning the earthquake. "We are faced with a predicament for all of the South Pacific: billions of dollars of property damage and, worse, thousands of casualties. It is Esfalsa's national responsibility to respond."

The memorandum allocates declares a foreign emergency and allocates 750 million Esfalsan dollars in funding for the next two months and 1.5 billion Esfalsan dollars for the ten months afterward and allows Esfalsan

The memorandum further authorizes the allocation of 1,500 soldiers from the Esfalsan army and five destroyers of Esfalsan navy, each of which is equipped with a helicopter hangar to access areas cut off by damage from the earthquake. These relief efforts will be overseen by the Qhichwa Department of Health.

The memorandum has yet to be approved by the Legislature, but due to the declaration of emergency, implementation will proceed unless the Legislature rejects the memorandum.