“People who are in shelters, for the most part, had to leave their homes without anything, much less a mask,” Walsh explained.
There are fears that crowding at hurricane shelters will lead to the spread of coronavirus infections. There is great need for drinking water, food supplies, and biosafety equipment like masks, antiseptic gel and soap. “We’re using whatever funding we can to provide immediate assistance for the families that have been so badly affected.” “All of these programs are being interrupted now because of the emergency,” Walsh said. Aiding youth vulnerable to exploitation and unemployment is another area of their work. They normally focus on improving agriculture, water supply and education. There are about 60 CRS staff based in Nicaragua’s national capital of Tegucigalpa, the city of San Pedro, and La Esperanza in the west of the country. Likewise, the immediate situation in Honduras is “a very, very critical situation,” Walsh said.Ĭatholic Relief Services is the U.S. Nicaraguan farmers in the northern and central parts of the country lost as much as 50% of their bean crops, with heavy damage to rice, corn and vegetables. Timothy Hansell, manager of Catholic Relief Services in Nicaragua, told National Public Radio that the relief agency aims to provide cleaning supplies and toilet paper to local residents, rebuild homes, and help farmers recover.Ĭaribbean coastal indigenous communities were among the hardest hit by Eta’s strong winds and floodwaters, he said. It is going right through the center of the country,” he said. This was just before they were going to harvest their bean crops and their corn, two basic staples,” said Walsh. “In more vulnerable rural communities, farmers lost their crops. “After Eta came through, thousands of people were displaced from their homes in the north. “The situation in Honduras is already critical,” Walsh said before Iota’s landfall. 4 landfall of Hurricane Eta, which hit Nicaragua, Guatemala, and southern Belize. Iota is the 30th named storm this season, and the strongest storm of the season. It is the first recorded Category 5 storm to hit the island and its neighbor San Andres. The infrastructure on the island was completely wiped out. Tens of thousands of people took refuge in government shelters.Īt least two people died on the Colombian island of Providencia, where 112 people were evacuated on Tuesday, CNN reports. At least four adults and two minors were killed in Nicaragua, which lost electrical power along almost its entire coast. The storm brought “catastrophic winds, life-threatening storm surge, and torrential rainfall,” the National Hurricane Center said. It weakened to a Category 2 strength storm, with 105 mph winds, before becoming a tropical storm, National Public Radio reports. Hurricane Iota briefly reached Category 5 hurricane strength, then made landfall in Nicaragua Monday night with sustained winds of 155 mph, a Category 4 hurricane. “Let us not forget our brothers and sisters here in Honduras because they are suffering, and they are very very close to the United States. Let us not overlook Central America,” he said. “We are fully aware that there are other emergencies the world is dealing with right now. “It’s been a little hard to get resources together to be able to respond effectively considering the scale of this emergency, but we’re doing what we can and we’re reaching out to all people of good will.” “Right now the world’s attention is focused elsewhere,” Conor Walsh, Catholic Relief Services’ manager in Honduras, told CNA’s Spanish-language sister agency ACI Prensa Nov. Tegucigalpa, Honduras, / 12:33 pm ( CNA).- With Hurricane Iota becoming the second major hurricane to hit Central America this November, relief agencies have tried to prepare for even more destruction and have appealed for donations and support from around the world.
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