September 6, 2007

As Hurricane Felix dissipates over Central America, government and aid agencies are beginning to cope with its effects. At least 38 people have died and more than 200 remain missing in Nicaragua and Honduras. Although agencies prepared for the storm with evacuations and pre-positioning supplies, providing relief is difficult as roads, especially in the hard-hit rural areas, have been washed out or are otherwise impassable.

Heavy rains are expected in Honduras and Guatemala, where hillside villages are particularly vulnerable to mudslides. As much as 25 inches of rain could fall. Communication is difficult at the moment, particularly in Honduras. In Nicaragua, officials estimate Hurricane Felix severely impacted at least 35,000 people.

Vulnerable Communities Watch

Poverty abounds in Hurricane Felix's impact zone. In Nicaragua, the hardest hit area is the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN), where an estimated 200,000 people live in poverty.

Of particular note are around 14,000 Miskito Indians, a marginalized people who were not able to evacuate in advance. Honduran officials estimate at least 5,500 Miskito homes destroyed. Providing relief to the Miskito, in the mountainous, rural region along the Nicaragua - Honduras border will be problematic, likely requiring expensive airlifts of supplies.

It may be some time before rural areas can receive relief, as Nicaraguan civil defense officials report extremely high river levels and remaining hurricane-force winds.

CWS Response

CWS joins Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in shipping 15,000 CWS Hygiene Kits to its partners in Nicaragua to provide immediate relief. Additionally, CWS will provide 20 IMA Medicine Boxes from disaster response partner, Interchurch Medical Assistance. Each IMA Medicine Box can treat as many as 1,000 people for common illnesses for two to three months.

CWS will work with multiple Action by Churches Together (ACT) partners throughout the region to provide immediate relief and subsequent recovery. CWS will support its partners as communication is re-established and needs become clear.

Communication is particularly difficult in Honduras, where members of the ACT - Honduras network.and operational partners have yet to begin assessment. In Nicaragua, CWS will support ACT-Nicaragua members:

Christian Medical Action (AMC)

Council of Evangelical Churches for a Denominational Alliance (CEPAD)

Interchurch Center for Theological and Social Studies (CIEETS)

Interchurch Organization for Development Co-operation - Kerkinactie (ICCO/KIA)

Nicaraguan Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope (ILN)

Lutheran World Relief (LWR) - Central America Office

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA)

These agencies are already active in providing relief and, in some cases, have been first to reach outlying communities.

Contributions to support this effort may be sent to your denomination or directly to: Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515

Contributions may also be made by credit card online, or by calling: 800-297-1516, ext. 222.

Media Contact: Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org