Puerto Cabezas, 6.9.2007. Deutsche Welthungerhilfe (German Agro Action) is providing 50,000 euro in emergency aid for the victims of Hurricane "Felix". Thanks to timely evacuation measures taken by the national civil defence authority there were relatively few fatalities, but enormous damage has been caused across Nicaragua.

According to initial estimates by the civil protection authority, the storm has seriously affected the lives of around 70,000 people in Region Autónoma Atlantico Norte (RAAN) in the north-east of Nicaragua, which is the poorest part of this Central American country. In the coastal city of Puerto Cabezas as much as 90 per cent of housing is badly damaged. Conditions in the remote communities are disastrous.

"I have visited seven communities. In all of them I found houses, schools, churches and health centres completely destroyed," said Alwin Schuchmann, who was able to gain an initial impression of the situation outside Puerto Cabezas. "Eye-witnesses told me it was just as bad further north."

Alwin Schuchmann also reports that nearly all the harvest has been destroyed. "The staple crops of rice, bananas, yucca and beans have been completely lost." Even before the hurricane, over half the population in RAAN faced food shortages; almost a quarter of all children in the disaster region are chronically undernourished.

With the funds now released, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe is working to get relief supplies to 7,000 people. These include building materials like plastic sheeting, wood and nails as well as basic foodstuffs including rice, beans, sugar and cooking oil.

We are appealing for donations for hurricane victims in Nicaragua:

Deutsche Welthungerhilfe Account number 1115 Sparkasse KölnBonn Sorting code 370 501 98 Reference: Nicaragua

For further information go to www.welthungerhilfe.de