A woman wades waist-deep in water in Puerto San Jose in Escuitla region, Guatemala. (Photo: REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez courtesy of www.Alertnet.org)
Tropical Depression 12-E swept through the Caribbean and Central America last week, bringing with it over a metre of rainfall and causing flooding and landslides, and damaging houses, bridges and roads. Hundreds have lost their lives across the region.
“The amount of rainfall has been extreme – more has fallen than under Hurricane Mitch, regarded as among the greatest disasters of the 1990s. The government of Guatemala has declared a State of Public Calamity. Thirty have so far been reported dead, and up to half a million people are affected,” says Sveinung Eskeland, NCA regional representative for Central America.
Joint ACT response
NCA, together with members of the ACT Alliance Forum in Guatemala, is now in the process of assessing the damage in some of the worst-hit areas of Guatemala, and has already begun delivering relief.
“Food is a priority right now, as people have lost their food reserves as well as the crops in their fields and their livestock. We also need to provide people with access to safe drinking water, as water-borne and respiratory diseases are already on the rise. In the longer-term, we need to look at ways to help farmers replant, restock and recover,” says Eskeland.
Food aid
So far around 400 families have received an emergency one-month food ration consisting of beans, corn, rice, vegetable oil, salt and clean water. Hygiene kits containing soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sanitary pads and disinfectant are also being distributed.
“We are continuing to assess the damages. Many roads have been destroyed, making access difficult. We have applied for funding to provide a broader relief effort as and when these needs have been identified,” concludes Eskeland.