ReliefWeb

This report covers the period between 19 and 21 October. Next report will be issued on or around October 25.

 A National State of Public Calamity has been declared.
 Presidential Elections are due on November 6 th , 2011. This is two and a half weeks away and is a concern for authorities.
 Updated reports indicate 528,735 people have been affected, 78,662 were most affected, 30,040 evacuated, 19,755 are reported in shelters (11,500 of which in 129 official shelters), 18 injured, 5 missing and 38 dead. Total numbers include the population affected in the Santa Rosa’s earthquake.
 INSIVUMEH reports a cold front, active since the 20 th of October, has significantly decreased temperatures and the amount of rainfall. However, the cold temperatures represent another challenge for those still displaced/in shelters.
 As of 21 October, field monitors report that weather conditions are slowly allowing access to isolated communities to deliver aid and to start the evaluation of needs.
 The UN organized joint missions to identify gaps to be filled in visited areas.
 The GoG is going through a period of financial constraints. In the last four months, the GoG has not been able to pay CONRED personnel. Similar financial restrictions apply to other ministries such as Health and Agriculture. CONRED has lack financial resources to buy fuel for transport. This has limited their response actions during this emergency.
 The Disaster Management Team – DMT is holding joint and sectorial meetings (Food, Water, Health and Shelters) to share information and coordinate joint responses.
 After joint field assessments, as discussed in UNETE and after consultation with OCHA, UN will be preparing CERF proposal for next Monday,in consultation with partners from the Humanitarian Network. Four sectors are being considered: water, health, shelters and food while other interventions will be integrated in above clusters. Douglas Reimer/OCHA will be arriving in Guatemala over the weekend.