Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update as of 17 October 2025

KEY FIGURES

• 7.5K people displaced due to heavy rainfall and flooding in Mexico
• 1.4M people now internally displaced in Haiti
• 5.7M people face Crisis (IPC 3) levels of food insecurity in Haiti

ATLANTIC: HURRICANE SEASON

Tropical Storm Lorenzo, the 12th named storm of the 2025 season, dissipated over the North Atlantic on 16 October without threatening the Caribbean. Recovery continues from Tropical Storm Jerry, which caused flooding in the northeastern Caribbean. The National Hurricane Center is monitoring a system over the central Atlantic with a 30 per cent chance of development.

MEXICO: FLOODING

Intense rainfall between 6 and 9 October caused flooding across Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro, and San Luis Potosí, killing at least 72 people and leaving 48 missing. The floods affected 121 municipalities, damaged about 100,000 homes, and displaced some 7,500 people. Federal and state authorities are leading response, with support from the UN and humanitarian partners in assessments and coordination. The National Civil Protection System is tracking the possible formation of Tropical Storm Sonia in the Pacific—the fifth storm to threaten Mexico since early September and the 18th of an above-average season.

HONDURAS: FLOODING

Sustained rains triggered widespread floods and landslides, killing at least 15 people and affecting nearly 29,000. More than 2,000 homes were damaged and 83 communities remain cut off, prompting a 45-day state of emergency in Francisco Morazán, La Paz, Intibucá, and Lempira, and a separate emergency for the capital district. The National Risk Management System (SINAGER) is active, and the Permanent Commission for Contingencies (COPECO) is coordinating rescue, shelter, and relief operations while rain warnings remain in effect.

HAITI: DISPLACEMENT & FOOD INSECURITY

Internal displacement has reached a record 1.4 million, according to IOM, a 36 per cent increase since late 2024. Nearly two thirds of new displacements occurred outside Port-au-Prince, particularly in the Centre and Artibonite departments, where rising violence has driven mass displacement. About 85 per cent of displaced families are in host communities straining their already limited resources, while the number of spontaneous displacement sites has surged to 238. Women and children are disproportionately affected, accounting for more than half of the displaced population.

Territorial clashes and economic collapse have pushed 5.7 million people—over half of Haiti’s population—into Crisis (IPC 3) levels of food insecurity or worse, including 1.9 million in Emergency (IPC 4). As violence spreads into rural areas, livelihoods, markets, and farming have been disrupted, worsening hunger and malnutrition. UNICEF reports that 3.3 million children need humanitarian aid, with 680,000 displaced and 1.2 million children under age five living in areas facing acute food insecurity.

COLOMBIA: CONFINEMENT

Ongoing clashes between two Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs) in Bajo Calima, Valle del Cauca, have confined at least 1,407 Afro-descendant people - around 516 families. Affected rural communities remain without access to basic goods or freedom of movement. Figures remain subject to verification. Violence and insecurity continue to drive displacement, confinement and mobility restrictions in Valle del Cauca, where at least 21,100 people have been affected so far in 2025.