J ust 13 days after Hurricane Eta, a second devastating storm hit Honduras and other Central American countries this week. Attachments. 4 min read. This feature was originally published by Newsweek México. I couldn’t get in when Donald Trump was in charge... he didn’t give anybody a chance to work there, but now things are going to change with Joe Biden.”. In Honduras, Hurricane Eta left a trail of destruction. On 26 November, he announced that he had sent the Free Vaccine for All Against COVID-19 law to the National Congress, to “ensure that everyone has access, voluntarily and without cost”. At least three have died and more are missing after Iota slammed into Central America just miles away from where Eta hit less than two weeks earlier. Residents wade through a flooded road Thursday in Planeta, Honduras, in the aftermath of Hurricane Eta.   |   Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. Tropical Storm Iota was brewing in the Caribbean Sea early Saturday, threatening a second tropical strike for Nicaragua and Honduras, countries recently ransacked by a Category 4 Hurricane Eta. The impact of the hurricanes was so severe that it made many people forget, at least momentarily, about the pandemic that has changed the world. Hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Honduras back-to-back in November. "It is possible that Iota could track north of Honduras, allowing the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Eta to be spared," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob … Hurricanes Iota and Eta deal Honduras a catastrophic double-blow. Guatemala, which was affected to a much lesser extent by the hurricanes, has already requested TPS for its citizens in the US. The Government of El Salvador opened 1,000 shelters with a capacity for 30,000 people. Thousands of acres of crops were washed away, causing even more shortages in communities already experiencing severe food insecurity as a result of the pandemic. The valley surrounding San Pedro Sula – the country’s economic motor and home to about 2 million people – is the hardest hit area in the nation. In Honduras, we are providing blankets, hygiene kits, and kitchen supplies. However, the government has so far refused to sign the Escazú Agreement, a regional treaty on environmental rights and the protection of environmental activists, which has been ratified by 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries since its adoption in 2018.   |   brought widespread flooding and forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, which made landfall on the north coast of Nicaragua on Monday, before pushing through Honduras the following day. An estimated 100,000 people remained isolated across Honduras in the aftermath of Hurricane Eta as Iota made landfall. This week it was inundated again as Hurricane Iota struck. Juana Tabora knew she had to help her neighbours when the water began to flood the streets, blocking the exits in La Lima, her city in northwestern Honduras. The arrival of Hurricanes Eta and Iota in early November, which have so far affected approximately three million people in Honduras alone, marked the reversal of the phenomenon, due to La Niña, which sees surface temperatures in the east-central Pacific drift below average to generate volatile hurricane seasons. Estimates show Hurricane Eta left $5 billion in damages. First I lost money due to the coronavirus pandemic, and then these two storms hit. Tropical Storm Iota was brewing in the Caribbean Sea early Saturday, threatening a second tropical strike for Nicaragua and Honduras, countries recently ransacked by a Category 4 Hurricane Eta. Many had waited for days to be rescued. Impact If you are talented and passionate about human rights then Amnesty International wants to hear from you. The best way is to migrate.”, Hurricane Iota wreaks havoc across Central America – in pictures, Hurricane Iota has left the Planeta municipality in La Lima, Honduras, submerged in water. They should not put them in places where there are only men... this could lead to discriminatory actions or violence against the LGBT community.”, Martinez speaks with pride of the solidarity the LGBT community has shown with trans women in the coastal areas worst affected by the hurricanes. San Pedro Sula and El Progreso are among the most severely affected communities. Estimates show Hurricane Eta left $5 billion in damages. And now, Hurricane Iota is following Eta's path and making matters devastatingly worse. Hurricane Iota is now growing strong and is set to hit Monday (11/16/2020) and travel the same path causing even more flooding in areas that are still 6 to 8 ft. underwater. About 2.9 million people in Honduras were affected by Eta, according to the country’s emergency response unit, including many like Benitez whose homes were flooded to the rooftops. “The water was rising to the rooftop,” said 25-year-old Ingrid Sanchez, who was rescued along with her two young children from on top of their house by firefighters, who reached them by boat. Along with Benitez and many other residents of San Pedro Sula’s La Lima suburb, she had gathered along the highway that cuts through the city, with nowhere else to go. Martínez laments that the government has not taken differentiated measures that take into account the needs of LGBT people, as well as those of other marginalized populations, such as indigenous peoples and people with disabilities. Eta is the strongest hurricane to ravage Honduras since Mitch in 1998, which killed over 7,000 people. (Update: 4 December 2020) So far there is a total of roughly 4.6 million people affected by Eta & Iota together in Honduras, of which 1.78 million are children. Tropical Storm Eta and Hurricane Iota have landed Honduras and much of Central America a catastrophic double-blow. Tabora had already buried many COVID-19 victims and even had to close her business for a while because of the pandemic, but she immediately put her concerns to one side to shelter those who needed her help. MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) - Iota rapidly gained strength after becoming the 13th hurricane of the Atlantic season Sunday, threatening to bring dangerous winds and rains to Nicaragua and Honduras — countries recently clobbered by Category 4 Hurricane Eta. Together, our community raised $25,595 to provide everything from hotel rooms, clothes, cleaning … In three days, Eta downgraded to a tropical storm and then to a tropical depression, drenching much of Honduras and causing rising river levels, flooding, and landslides across the country. Iota flooded stretches of Honduras still underwater from Hurricane Eta, after it hit Nicaragua Monday evening as a Category 4 hurricane and weakened as it … “They don't want to help in any way... they could easily give us umbrellas, at least with an umbrella we could get by, but the way things are right now, look, more rain is coming and there’s nothing we can do.”. Hurricanes Eta and Iota have devastated parts of Honduras, and official response has been slow, observers say. ‘The worst thing we’ve ever been through’. Preliminary estimates of the economic loss from Eta ranged from 10 to 20% of GDP, or roughly $2.5 to $5bn (£2-£4bn), and the Iota impact could double those numbers. Situation updates about hurricanes Eta and Iota in Honduras are provided in this discussion. Quincy, WA 36° F Cookie Statement It’s a disaster we’re living through, but we’re trying to get back on our feet.”. Now his only roof is a bridge. “The people have no rights, no health, no work, no nothing,” he adds, as he savours a baleada donated by a passer-by. Getting ahead in Honduras will probably be much harder for years to come. The two hurricanes left at least 94 dead affecting almost 4 million people across the nation, and analysts say they could cause the level of poverty to rise by 10%, surpassing 70% of the population. Iota expected to form by Sunday; likely to cause catastrophic rains in Nicaragua and Honduras By Jeff Masters, Ph.D. | Nov 13, 2020 Twenty to 30 inches of rain is predicted for the region, where the devastating Hurricane Eta made landfall just 10 days ago. When it rains it pours in Honduras, a country that had already suffered multiple crisis in recent years: state repression, gang violence, economic problems, environmental destruction, mass emigration and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. With a slightly different trajectory than Eta, Hurricane Iota caused flooding and landslides in the northern part of the country, exacerbating an already difficult situation. Another 25 sheep of his drowned when the property flooded. Volunteers join the rescue efforts in the Planeta colony in La Lima, Honduras. Surreal scenes abound, like in the Chamelecón neighbourhood to the south of the city, where the river overflowed and flooded the cemetery, forcing open graves and leaving coffins floating in the water. USA: New Amnesty International report details ongoing human rights violations at Guantánamo Bay detention facility, UK: Decision to refuse Assange bail renders his continued detention “arbitrary”, 94 dead affecting almost 4 million people, Belarus: Leaked audio allegedly exposing top Interior Minister official ordering use of illegal force against peaceful protesters must be effectively investigated, Amnesty International and Advocacy Assembly launch new online courses on open source human rights investigations, Cambodia: 150 opposition politicians and supporters face jail in mass trials. Around 30 families took refuge there after losing their homes to the hurricanes Eta and Iota, which devastated large swathes of Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua in the first weeks of November. Iota flooded stretches of Honduras still underwater from Hurricane Eta, after it hit Nicaragua Monday evening as a Category 4 hurricane and weakened as it … “We lost everything in our homes,” said 22-year-old Carlos Pineda. “The Honduran people must know that Operation ‘You Are Not Alone’ will reach every last corner affected by the storms to give us back the dignity that was muddied, but has not been lost,” he wrote on Twitter. In the aftermath of Eta, Honduras … By November 17, 700 people had relocated from their homes. In addition to these figures, some 20 schools, 51 buildings, 84 bridges and 218 roads were damaged in the country. Many worry about post-storm corruption. Honduras: Tormentas Tropicales Eta e Iota - Informe de Situación No. The unprecedented double blow comes on top of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had already depleted government resources and left many people unemployed in one of the poorest countries in Latin America. “We try to give them advice, we try to isolate them and we try to give them as much psychological counselling as we can, because obviously right now there has not only been material damage and human loss, but the population has also suffered a lot of psychological damage.”. Category 4 Hurricane Eta and Category 5 Hurricane Iota cut similar paths across Central America this month, a one-two punch that killed scores of … “When we saw the distress people were in we didn’t even think about these things... [I thought] come on, maybe they could be saved here, even if there’s not much room.”, Many of those affected have suffered post-traumatic stress due to everything they’ve been through since Eta, the first hurricane, approached. Hurricanes Eta and Iota caused damage of at least $1.8 billion in Honduras and affected almost half of its population, estimated a report by the ECLAC released Sunday by the government. This time around global attention – and depleted finances – are focused on the coronavirus pandemic, and there is an absence of US leadership to mobilise support. Victims of the lack of environmental protection. Hurricane Iota hit the Nicaraguan coast on November 16 as a Category 4 storm. Iota killed at least 16 people in Nicaragua and a dozen or more in Honduras, according to the Associated Press, just weeks after 130 people died during Eta in Central America. The last time Honduras suffered a natural disaster of this scale was in 1998, when Hurricane Mitch – the worst natural disaster in Central American history and one of the deadliest Atlantic storms ever – devastated much of the country’s infrastructure. Iota arrived Monday evening with winds of 155 mph (250 kph), hitting nearly the same location as Hurricane Eta two weeks earlier. We’re all scared... it’s the worst thing we’ve ever been through.”. Sat on a red sofa beneath the bridge, Zaida Ramos, a single mother of two, agrees: “The government hasn’t given us a bite to eat around here, it’s just the people helping the people. El Salvador. Duncan Tucker is Amnesty International’s media manager for the Americas. With clouds of mosquitos, large bodies of water and animal corpses everywhere, plus the lack of sanitation due to the storm damage, Nolasco is on the alert for possible outbreaks of malaria and leptospirosis. National Civil Police distribute donated clothes to victims of Hurricane Iota queueing at the Chamelecón neighbourhood in San Pedro Sula. “I understand that there are people who came with small children, saving their babies, and they didn’t remember their masks because of the anguish,” she says. The hurricanes brought damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding to the region. The national authorities say they saved 34 people stranded on rooftops using military and civilian helicopters, as well as carrying out two aquatic rescues. According to foreign media, Hurricanes Eta and Iota caused around 3.4 million people to be affected in Tegucigalpa alone, including 91 deaths, 189,604 people evacuated and 128,127 left unhoused. “We were surrounded by water, people started saying ‘help us, we want to come in’, so we opened the door downstairs so that people could get in,” says Tabora, the owner of a two-storey funeral home that she turned into an improvised shelter. Since then, it has faced accusations of not doing enough to protect the health and dignity of those affected and to guarantee their access to humanitarian assistance. HOPE; Posted 17 Nov 2020 Originally published 17 Nov 2020. The hurricanes brought damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding to the region. Even I had a fever for two days. Most residents in already flooded areas needed little persuasion to evacuate before Iota hit. Last year more than 250,000 Hondurans were apprehended at the south-west US border, more than double any previous year. “Yesterday was my 58th birthday and I couldn’t even celebrate with a Coca-Cola,” Mejia says. Hurricane Iota came ashore just 15 miles south of where Hurricane Eta made landfall November 3, also as a Category 4 storm. He says the Movimiento de Diversidad en Resistencia group raised a thousand dollars to buy them food, clothing and shoes, while transgender refugees in US cities such as Washington DC and Miami have sent them money to buy supplies. How are we going to feed them?”. Hurricane Iota made a catastrophic landfall on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua last week, just 13 days after Hurricane Eta’s landfall. Citing the scientists who have linked climate change to the extreme force of the hurricanes that have hurt Central America so badly in recent months, Zúñiga affirms that “we must hold accountable the large countries and economic powers who have produced these results, as well as the process of so-called ‘modernization’, so that the people who have contributed most to the defence of the earth stop suffering the effects of the pollution caused by those who shirk their responsibility.”, Zúñiga concludes by warning that “as long as the pollution continues, as long as the depredation continues, as long as the rights of those who continue defending the earth are not recognized, our prospects will remain bleak. Today, Honduras weighs heavy on our hearts. Privacy Policy Iota flooded stretches of Honduras still underwater from Hurricane Eta, after it hit Nicaragua Monday evening as a Category 4 hurricane and weakened as it … He described Hurricane Iota as a “catastrophic situation unfolding for northern Honduras with an extreme storm surge of 15- to 20-foot forecast along with destructive winds and potentially 30 inches of rainfall, and it is exacerbated by the fact that it should make landfall in almost the exact same location that Category 4 Hurricane Eta did about two weeks ago.” Many families were forced to live under a bridge where access to potable water is scarce. Honduras + 1 more. 11/7/2020: Honduras was hit hard by Hurricane Eta last week causing major flooding. “The water got higher and had more strength.”. Two weeks after Eta struck, about 60 families were still living beneath a bridge on a highway to the southeast of San Pedro Sula. 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