Millions affected by Hurricane ETA threatened by new storm

Ensure the implementation of health protocols to prevent COVID-19 infections and to protect children in World Vision's humanitarian action center.

1.5 million need humanitarian aid. Race against time to prepare vulnerable populations for the threat of Tropical Storm Theta

More than 91,000 people are displaced in shelters after losing their homes.

11 NOV-. As if the devastation of Central America's economies, hunger and unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were not enough, Hurricane ETA dealt another deadly blow to millions of vulnerable people. Seven days after its passage through the region, the phenomenon left more than 3.4 million people affected and forced more than 91,000 people to move to temporary shelters. The effects on infrastructure, families and particularly children are extremely serious, warned the humanitarian and development organization World Vision.

In coordination with civil protection, OCHA, and national relief bodies, World Vision is working to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable children. In addition, the organization is strengthening compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures, especially with children in areas impacted by ETA. The work reaches temporary shelters and communities in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica, reported José Nelson Cháves, World Vision's regional emergency advisor.

Devastation in the Shadows
"Hurricane ETA has affected more than 2 million Hondurans. As the waters recede, the bodies of dozens of drowned people are appearing. The loss and damage to poor people's homes is massive. In Guatemala, there are more than 358,000 people affected and hundreds of people died in the mudslides in San Cristobal de la Paz. The scenes are also heartbreaking in Nicaragua, in the coastal area, and in several cities in El Salvador where thousands of families lost everything. This is a catastrophe that adds to the emergency caused by COVID-19," said Jorge Galeano, World Vision's National Director in Honduras and Guatemala.

"International aid is urgent. We don't have much time, for the next few days, we are expecting another storm, Theta, which will further deepen the extreme conditions," he added. An estimated 1.5 million people in Central America require urgent humanitarian assistance, including food, hygiene materials and medicines.

Faced with the threat of a new system that would impact Central America, World Vision is supplying its warehouses with supplies and materials to help those most in need, coordinating now with humanitarian partners, churches and volunteers, and is directing messages to the population to prepare and anticipate actions in the face of the possibility of increased rainfall.

"The soil is already saturated, a slight increase in rainfall can be lethal and cause more landslides and flooding, so we urge international support to help those affected, who are mostly poor people," added Cháves. ETA left 93 dead and 143 missing, according to the latest official figures.