Baltimore -- Torrential rains for the last month in Nicaragua have caused severe flooding, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and leading to massive crop loss in the Central and Pacific region. Lutheran World Relief, with a long history in Nicaragua, is preparing to assist several of the communities affected by providing emergency food and supplies, and crop rehabilitation.

The floods have cut off access to main roads, leaving many villages with scarce food and water supplies. The areas of Matagalpa and Jinotega, in the Central region, are the locations of much of LWR’s ongoing development work with Fair Trade coffee, but damage to coffee farms was limited due to the soil conservation and agro-forestry activities conducted by LWR partners in the region during the last several years.

“Many of those affected are rural people with very little to fall back on,” said Jean Waagbo, LWR’s deputy regional director for Latin America. “In many cases, families have lost their entire crops of basic grains and vegetables in these heavy rains and devastating floods and will need to start over from scratch to rebuild their homes and livelihoods.”

Communities on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua have also been affected. Members of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, a global coalition of faith-based aid agencies, are assessing the situation in Nicaragua and will submit an appeal to the worldwide network for additional assistance. LWR intends to support the appeal and its activities providing assistance and relief to families in the Chinandega region.