Hundreds of landslides and widespread flooding
due to heavy rains from Hurricane Stan have killed nearly 200 people in
El Salvador and Guatemala and driven more than 100,000 people from their
homes. The governments of both countries have declared a national emergency
and CARE is answering their calls for assistance.
In El Salvador, where the eruption of
the Santa Ana volcano in the western part of the country has made the emergency
situation worse, CARE is focusing its response on the most vulnerable of
this group - the women and children who comprise more than 70 percent
of the people evacuated to shelters.
"CARE is immediately providing emergency kits to these families that include clean drinking water, children's food, disposable diapers and personal hygiene items like soap and towels," says Ligia Alvarenga, CARE's program director in El Salvador.
In one area, near the Jiboa River, CARE staff helped residents overwhelmed by floodwaters to construct temporary shelters. CARE is assisting more than 13,000 people in shelters.
Preventing waterborne disease is critical, so CARE is also supplying shelters with portable latrines. CARE also plans to provide counseling for the many survivors experiencing post traumatic stress after being forced to flee their homes.
"Once the rains have subsided, CARE will work with communities to decontaminate wells, clean up debris, rehabilitate latrines and ensure that people have access to adequate supplies of food," adds Alvarenga
In Guatemala, CARE is working with the government to assess people's most urgent needs in several of the hardest hit areas in the western part of the country.
"CARE has the capacity to provide support to 20,000 people," says Luis Paiz, CARE's program director for Guatemala."Our preliminary plans are to supply food, including staples like rice, beans, corn flour and milk, clean drinking water and shelter."
Both countries have experienced extensive damage to key infrastructure with several main roads blocked by landslides, including the Pan-American Highway and the Coastal Highway in El Salvador, while flooding has cut off low lying areas. CARE staff report there is no electricity or clean water in the south and west of Guatemala.
More rain is expected to pound both countries over the next several days due to tropical storms and depressions in the region.
The more it rains the higher the risk that more people will die in landslides. Both countries are extremely prone to landslides, which in El Salvador have caused 95 percent of the casualties so far.
Media Contacts:
Atlanta: Alina Labrada, CARE, labrada@care.org, (404) 979-9383, (404) 457-4644