Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update as of 6 March 2026

KEY FIGURES

• 133K people affected by rains and flooding across southeastern Brazil
• $12.5B estimated in losses in Jamaica from Hurricane Melissa
• 30K people affected by ongoing rain, flooding and landslides in Ecuador

ECUADOR: FLOODING

Heavy rains persist across Ecuador. As of 6 March, authorities now report 1,332 rain-related adverse events this year, affecting 30,590 people and displacing a further 3,025 across 24 provinces. Flooding and landslides remain the most recurrent hazards. The worst-affected provinces continue to include Guayas, Esmeraldas, Manabí, Los Ríos, El Oro, Loja and Santa Elena, where intensifying rains have damaged more than 8,600 homes and 28 km of road infrastructure. National authorities have maintained and expanded alert declarations, with red alerts active in six provinces and a 90‑day regional state of emergency in effect across eight coastal and Andean provinces. Emergency Operations Committees remain active at national, provincial, cantonal and parish levels, coordinating response efforts as strong to extremely strong rains are forecast to continue.

BRAZIL: FLOODING

Severe weather continues to batter southeastern Brazil, where intensified rains have affected at least 133,035 people in the region and displaced nearly 10,000 across Juiz de Fora, Ubá and Matias Barbosa in Minas Gerais. As of 3 March, authorities report 72 fatalities, 65 in Juiz de Fora and seven in Ubá, while one person remains missing. More than 110 municipalities have now declared a state of emergency or public calamity. According to state authorities, the ongoing rainy reason has become the deadliest Minas Gerais has experienced in the past 20 years, underscoring the scale of the emergency. Red warnings remain in effect across multiple states in the Southeast and Northeast, with moderate to heavy rains forecast to persist over the coming days. National and local authorities, supported by humanitarian partners, are expanding response efforts in affected areas.

HAITI: VIOLENCE & DISPLACEMENT

Waves of violence continue to affect communities and force new population movements across Haiti. On 2 March, armed attacks in the communal section of Bas Coursin II, Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite, forced the displacement of 446 people (102 households). The majority of these people (96 per cent) have sought refuge with host families, while the remaining 4 per cent (16 individuals) are sheltering in two pre-existing sites in the area. All displaced households remain within the commune, primarily in Bas Coursin II (88 per cent) and Labady (12 per cent). The new arrivals add to already strained hosting arrangements and compound vulnerabilities in communities facing recurrent violence‑induced displacement.

JAMAICA: HURRICANE MELISSA

Revised assessments highlight the immense scale of damage left by Hurricane Melissa, with the Planning Institute of Jamaica now estimating losses at J $1.95 trillion (US $12.5 billion) - about 56.7 per cent of GDP - reflecting severe destruction to housing, infrastructure, agriculture and public services, particularly in St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland. These updated figures far surpass the US $8.75 billion in direct physical damage identified in the immediate GRADE assessment, conducted by the World Bank and the Inter‑American Development Bank, which served as a rapid first estimate after the storm. The PIOJ also reports that Hurricane Melissa drove a 7.5 per cent economic contraction in the October-December 2025 quarter, the sharpest decline since 2020. National recovery efforts now unfold in the shadow of Jamaica’s deadliest and costliest hurricane in modern history - one that prompted the retirement of the name “Melissa” by the World Meteorological Organization after causing at least 45 deaths on the island and record‑breaking impacts across the Caribbean.