Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update as of 24 October 2025

KEY FIGURES

• $4M CERF funding allocated to Haiti support early actions for TS Melissa
• 8.9K people displaced since 14 October in Artibonite, Haiti
• 6.1K people facing mobility restrictions or confinement in Cauca, Colombia

CARIBBEAN: TROPICAL STORM MELISSA

Tropical Storm Melissa, the 13th named storm of the 2025 Atlantic season, is moving slowly north across the central Caribbean. As of 24 October, it was about 250 km southeast of Kingston and 425 km southwest of Port-au-Prince. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for Jamaica and Haiti’s southwestern peninsula, with heavy rain, strong winds, and storm surge expected across southern Haiti, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Cuba, heightening risks of flash floods and landslides. Haiti’s Civil Protection Directorate has issued an orange alert for five southern departments, while the CERF Anticipatory Action Framework allocated US$4 million to support early actions. Cuba has activated its Anticipatory Action framework’s readiness phase, and regional preparedness efforts are under way as Melissa may strengthen into a hurricane early next week.

MEXICO: FLOODING

Response operations continue in Veracruz, Hidalgo, and Puebla following the early October floods that left 79 people dead, 19 missing, and 92 communities isolated. Nearly 90,000 homes have been assessed for damage, and the Government has launched a US$560 million plan for recovery and reconstruction. The National Emergency Committee is coordinating the response with military and civilian forces. The UN Country Team continues supporting national authorities, focusing on the most affected areas and linking emergency action with early recovery. Forecasters are now monitoring a system south of Baja California with a high chance (80 per cent) of developing into a tropical depression within the next week as it moves westward.

HAITI: DISPLACEMENT & INSECURITY

Violence and insecurity continue to drive displacement and hinder humanitarian access across Haiti. Between 14 and 17 October, armed attacks in Liancourt and Bélanger, in the Artibonite department, displaced 8,954 people, most of whom are staying with host families in Verrettes and Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite. These incidents follow several recent displacements in the same area. Across Ouest, Artibonite, Centre, and Sud departments, humanitarian access remains challenging: 10 of 65 communes face high constraints, 20 moderate, and 35 low. The affected communes together host about 3.6 million people in need, including roughly 900,000 in areas with high constraints. Access has improved in Léogâne, Carrefour, and Cité Soleil, but conditions remain particularly difficult in Port-au-Prince, Kenscoff, Gressier, and Cornillon/Grand Bois, where insecurity and logistical challenges persist.

COLOMBIA: MOBILITY RESTRICTIONS

Ongoing violence in Totoró, Cauca has affected around 6,189 indigenous people. Since 9 October, armed clashes between security forces and non-state armed groups (NSAGs) have confined 229 people from two rural areas of the Paniquíta Indigenous Reserve, severely restricting movement. Two civilians have been killed and one injured. Classes and agricultural activities remain suspended amid widespread fear, affecting food security and children’s access to safe spaces. The presence of an NSAG in nearby communities has also limited mobility for at least 5,960 additional residents across 11 rural areas of the Reserve. Partners have identified growing risks of gender-based violence, psychosocial harm, and exposure to explosive hazards.