Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala were devastated by Hurricane Eta and Iota, which ravaged their countries on November 3rd, 2020, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.  As the winds receded, grim reports emerged: over 200 people are believed dead, catastrophic flooding affected water and sanitation, and deadly mudslides buried what little remained. Take a look here.

 

The number of people suffering is overwhelming. Despite the passage of time and immediate aid, the area's economy and infrastructure remains in shambles.  UNICEF estimates more than 1.5 million children are affected. 

 

The region is facing a triple threat of extreme weather, mass migration caused by economic instability and violence, and Covid-19. 

 

Scientists have declared Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, as the country most affected by climate change. Though they are responsible for less than .1 of the carbon emissions today, the climate crisis has accelerated food scarcity, plagued water sanitation issues, and forced migration from a land where more than 60% of the community live below poverty. Their vulnerability is due to climate-related hazards that devastate crops and infrastructure, where more than 40% of the population work in agriculture.   In Central America's Dry Corridor, an area that stretches from Costa Rica to the Mexican border, for the last five straight years, farmers have watched helplessly as drought has killed over half their crops. This region, historically known for its’ irregular El Niño weather patterns, has faced devastation accelerated by climate change, leaving more than 3.5 million people without food. Now, in a cruel turn of events, with the onslaught of the hurricane, their withered fields are covered by mudslides from the torrential rains.

 

Sadly, for our Latin American neighbors, the end is nowhere in sight.  As the pandemic and food scarcity  continue to wreak havoc in the region, continue, it’s still raining today in Honduras.

 

 TAKE ACTION:

1. Take up a shoe drive in your school or local community--check out one idea here. 

2. Go to foodforthepoor.org for how you can help from your community.

3. Go to care.org for how you can help from your community.

​

For millions of people, climate change is more than a hashtag or a news story. -

Alexandra Blitch, President of Forces of Nature