UK church agency partners assist in El Salvador and Guatemala
-11/10/05
Partners of UK-based international development agency Christian Aid have been among the first to distribute emergency aid to displaced survivors El Salvador as Hurricane Stan swept across Central America leaving at least 763 dead in its wake.
The Category One hurricane struck land in Mexico on 4 October and the torrential rain triggered mudslides in Guatemala and El Salvador the following day. CAFOD, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, is also deeply involved in relief and development programmes in the region.
In Guatemala, massive mudslides engulfed entire villages in Guatemala, severely hampering the rescue effort. In some areas, it is simply too dangerous to dig for survivors. Guatemalan officials are calling for several remote communities to be declared mass graves.
Diego Esquina, the mayor of Panabaj, said his village ìwill no longer exist. We are asking that it be declared a cemetery. The bodies are so rotten that they can no longer be identified. They will only bring disease.î
Thousands had already fled their homes to escape the deadly slick of mud, rocks and trees dislodged by the floods. Widespread deforestation in the region has made the terrain much more vulnerable to mudslides. The damage to some villages is so devastating that they have been rendered uninhabitable.
In El Salvador, the hurricane damage has been exacerbated by two other natural disasters. On 1 October, more than 20,000 people were forced to evacuate after the countryís highest volcano, Ilamatepec, erupted. Then on 7 October, there was an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. Its epicentre was just 35 miles south west of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. In total, 72,000 people have been displaced in El Salvador.
Three long-standing Christian Aid partners in El Salvador ñ Aprodehni, Las Dignas and Cordes ñ are providing food, water, blankets and personal hygiene kits to more than a thousand people displaced in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane.
In Guatemala, Christian Aid has a team assessing the needs of survivors in order to better target the emergency response.
Thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed in both Guatemala and El Salvador. Food aid will be needed for several months as the next planting season is not until May 2006. Farmers will also need help replenishing seeds and livestock.
Central America expert Sarah Smith Pearse from CAFOD said last week: ìIt is vital the international community realise the dimension of this crisis and act quickly. Countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala do not have the infrastructure, the money or resources in place to deal with such a large-scale disaster.î
She adds: ìAs always it is the poorest of the poor who are suffering the most, as their mud and wattle houses cannot withstand such an onslaught of rain. Thousands have lost their livestock and crops and their future livelihoods have been washed away.î
UK church agency partners assist in El Salvador and Guatemala
-11/10/05
Partners of UK-based international development agency Christian Aid have been among the first to distribute emergency aid to displaced survivors El Salvador as Hurricane Stan swept across Central America leaving at least 763 dead in its wake.
The Category One hurricane struck land in Mexico on 4 October and the torrential rain triggered mudslides in Guatemala and El Salvador the following day. CAFOD, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, is also deeply involved in relief and development programmes in the region.
In Guatemala, massive mudslides engulfed entire villages in Guatemala, severely hampering the rescue effort. In some areas, it is simply too dangerous to dig for survivors. Guatemalan officials are calling for several remote communities to be declared mass graves.
Diego Esquina, the mayor of Panabaj, said his village ‘will no longer exist. We are asking that it be declared a cemetery. The bodies are so rotten that they can no longer be identified. They will only bring disease.’
Thousands had already fled their homes to escape the deadly slick of mud, rocks and trees dislodged by the floods. Widespread deforestation in the region has made the terrain much more vulnerable to mudslides. The damage to some villages is so devastating that they have been rendered uninhabitable.
In El Salvador, the hurricane damage has been exacerbated by two other natural disasters. On 1 October, more than 20,000 people were forced to evacuate after the country’s highest volcano, Ilamatepec, erupted. Then on 7 October, there was an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. Its epicentre was just 35 miles south west of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. In total, 72,000 people have been displaced in El Salvador.
Three long-standing Christian Aid partners in El Salvador – Aprodehni, Las Dignas and Cordes – are providing food, water, blankets and personal hygiene kits to more than a thousand people displaced in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane.
In Guatemala, Christian Aid has a team assessing the needs of survivors in order to better target the emergency response.
Thousands of hectares of crops have been destroyed in both Guatemala and El Salvador. Food aid will be needed for several months as the next planting season is not until May 2006. Farmers will also need help replenishing seeds and livestock.
Central America expert Sarah Smith Pearse from CAFOD said last week: ‘It is vital the international community realise the dimension of this crisis and act quickly. Countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala do not have the infrastructure, the money or resources in place to deal with such a large-scale disaster.’
She adds: ‘As always it is the poorest of the poor who are suffering the most, as their mud and wattle houses cannot withstand such an onslaught of rain. Thousands have lost their livestock and crops and their future livelihoods have been washed away.’