Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update (As of 10 July 2023)

GUATEMALA: EL NIÑO

KEY FIGURES

• 1/3 OF GUATEMALA FACES RAINFALL DEFICIT IN THE COMING MONTHS

Guatemala has been facing an erratic and dry rainy season, with less than 25 per cent of normal total rainfall in the past 90 days. According to a recent joint analysis of the El Niño phenomenon from the Ministries of Health and of Agriculture, the Food Security Secretariat, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED), Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) sector leads, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and OCHA, one third of the country may face a rainfall deficit in the coming months, threatening approximately 289,000 hectares of maize and beans.

The Ministry of Agriculture has acquired catastrophe insurance for 100,000 small farmers, however a further 40,000 still require coverage.

According to previously reported IPC results, 3.6 million people may suffer from food insecurity this year. The Government indicates they only have the capacity to respond to some 600,000 people. The potential damage to crops due to rainfall deficits exacerbates the concern for the food security of the population.

URUGUAY: DROUGHT

KEY FIGURES

• 2 million PEOPLE FACE WATER SHORTAGES IN URUGUAY’S CAPITAL

Ongoing drought in the capital of Montevideo is reaching a critical point.

Estimates indicate that the water crisis is affecting between 40 to 60 per cent of the country’s 3.4 million population. Reserves are at a historic low, with water levels at the Paso Severino reservoir, which guarantees drinking water for 2 million people in the metropolitan area, dropping to 2 per cent of its capacity.

President Luis Lacalle Pou has declared a water emergency for Montevideo and surrounding areas. The emergency measures include eliminating tax on bottled water, creating an emergency fund for crisis-related expenditures and providing two litres of bottled water per day for more than 500,000 people. Water currently reaching homes in Montevideo is coming from La Plata river, an alternative water supply with higher levels of chloride and sodium that common water treatment plants cannot eliminate. The Government is warning pregnant women and people with chronic kidney ailments, heart failure and cirrhosis to avoid drinking tap water.

PERU: UBINAS VOLCANO

KEY FIGURES

• 1,500 PEOPLE PREPARE FOR EVACUATION IN SOUTHERN PERU

On 22 June, Ubinas Volcano in southern Peru began erupting. By 2 July authorities raised the alert level from yellow to orange due to heightened danger from the volcano. Subsequently, the Government has declared a 60-day state of emergency in 7 districts of the Moquegua department.

Almost 8,000 people and 3,500 homes are exposed to risk, as well as the livelihoods of over 2,100 farmers living in the southern part of the state. The National Civil Defence Institute (INDECI) is supporting local governments to provide initial relief, including the provision of filtering masks, and is preparing for the potential evacuation of up to 1,500 residents should conditions deteriorate. The Geophysics Institute of Peru registered 17 explosions over a 48-hour period starting on 4 July.

The Regional Government of Moquegua has already requested action from the Presidency and is preparing the Sirahuaya shelter. Ubinas Volcano’s last significant eruption was in 2019 and displaced thousands of people in the surrounding areas.