Honduras, still
in the recovery process after hurricanes Stan, Katrina, Wilma and
Beta over the past two months, has now been hit by Tropical Storm
Gamma. Since 18 November Gamma has been lashing the Honduran coast
with torrential rains that have resulted in such destruction that
the government has declared a national emergency.
The rainfalls
have affected mainly the departments of Gracias a Diós, Colón,
Atlántida, Islas de la Bahía, Yoro and Cortés.
According to the official information given by the Permanent Contingency
Commission (COPECO), the death toll has reached 9 with 4 injured and
15 missing. It is estimated that 15,658 people have been affected
and of those 8,887 are in shelters. The departments of Yoro and Atlántida
are isolated due to the destruction of the Guaymon Bridge which is
the main means of access to the area. This will have a serious impact
on the transportation of humanitarian aid. More rain is expected for
the next 24 hours.
ACT members in
Honduras: Christian Aid (CA), Christian Commission for Development
(CCD), DanChurchAid (DCA), HEKS and the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) report that COPECO, in co-ordination with other national
and local organisations, has been responding to the situation, providing
basic assistance to the people in the shelters and clearing the roads.
ACT members in
Honduras report that their partners working in the area: the Mennonite
Social Action Commission (CASM), Honduras Episcopal Church, The Association
of Non Governmental Organization of Honduras (ASONOG) and the Christian
Integral Development Organization (OCDIH) have been responding
to the emergency with their own resources helping with the evacuation
and providing food and water to the affected population. The most
immediate needs are food, drinking water, blankets, personal hygiene
items and kitchen utensils.
ACT partners in
the area were in the process of finalising a proposal to respond to
damages caused by Hurricane Beta, but are now carrying out further
assessments to include damage by Gamma. An appeal might be forthcoming.
