CHE Relief

HURRICANE ETA & IOTA

Three weeks after the impact of Tropical Storm Eta in November 5, 2020. Hurricane Iota hit northern Honduras heavily in November 18, 2020 affecting the communities around the Valle de Sula, including Copán, Choluteca, and Comayagua, and worsening the situation in the departments of Puerto Cortés, Yoro, Atlántida, Santa Barbara, Olancho, and Colón, that were previously hit by the first storm. 

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These two hydrometeorological disasters aggravated the already precarious situation of thousands of Honduran families, who were already heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic consequences. The impact of Eta and Iota overlapped as well with the compounded effect of several periods of droughts in the Dry Corridor, food insecurity, the increase in violence and poverty levels, as well as a latent dengue and Zika epidemics.

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According to official figures, approximately 4.7M people were affected by Hurricanes Eta and Iota. More than 368,901 people were isolated, and over a hundred people died because of the floods accumulated from the storms. Thousands of houses were flooded up to 2 meters, resulting in losses of all the households (HH) assets. The majority of those located along the river Chamelecón were totally destroyed, forcing affected families to relocate. A total of 927 roads were affected, and more than 72 bridges damaged, while 62 were destroyed. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock reported losses of up to 80% in the agricultural sector . According to a report by Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), the impact of the Hurricanes represented a loss of 45 billion Lempiras (approximately USD 1.86 billion).

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However, with the lack of safe water access by the population, lack of proper shelter to safeguard from the elements and the proliferation of stagnant water, there has been an increase in waterborne and vector borne diseases, as well as respiratory illnesses.

Livelihood recovery measures are urgent as well, as the impact of both Hurricanes worsened the already stressed situation around the Valle de Sula, as the impact destroyed agricultural fields and with flood water receding slowly is impeding new sowing, especially affecting subsistence farmers and informal workers who depend on seasonal crops.

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With the additional socioeconomic stressors, and increase in violence to vulnerable groups, an increase in the number of migrants is highly plausible, thus providing proper protection measures is a key priority to address as well. Access to education remains a key challenge for children and adolescents who were already severely impacted by school closures since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the effect of the Hurricanes, schools were used as collective centers or suffered damage to their infrastructure, further delaying the possibility of restarting the 2021 school year on time, increasing the likelihood of school desertion. As the effects of multiple hazards continue to overlap, the probability of new threats impacting an already vulnerable population in the nearby future remains high, the need for adequate preparedness and disaster risk reduction measures is critical to ensure the longer-term wellbeing of the communities in the Valle de Sula.