Hurricane Eta hits an already weakened Central America
Hundreds of thousands are displaced in Honduras. The region's governments don't have the money to rebuild.
The hurricane force winds from Eta only hit Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast and rapidly diminished but the storm dropped significant amounts of rain from southern Mexico all the way to Panama. Serious flooding occurred in nearly every country in the region. Though the storm has now moved towards Florida, it continues to create weather patterns across Central America that threaten more rain in some of the impacted areas.
The hurricane adds to Central America’s humanitarian crisis
Rescue operations are underway across the region. Beyond the immediate emergency, remote areas of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua all report shortages of food with supply lines cut off. They also need access to potable water.
Above: Map of mudslide risk in Tegucigalpa from El Heraldo. Article has additional maps.
In terms of numbers of people, Honduras was particularly hard hit because most of its population centers are built along significant waterways that rose to record high levels due to the storm. Almost a half million people have been displaced from their homes and an unknown percentage of that population will be unable to salvage much of what they owned.
The storm exposed transportation infrastructure weakness
Above: The San Pedro Sula airport after Eta
The San Pedro Sula airport was completely flooded both outside and inside. They’ve cleared and cleaned enough runway to bring in cargo and should have enough runway for passenger jets to resume shortly. Fixing and cleaning up the inside the airport will likely take longer.
Large portions of the CA-5 highway that runs through much of the populated areas of Honduras were shut down for several days by the rain and high water levels.
The Guatemalan government said it only had one helicopter that could reach the hardest hit areas where they estimate at least 150 have been killed by mudslides.
Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast is particularly underdeveloped and neglected by the central government. Getting supplies and personnel is difficult enough during good weather and has proven a real challenge in the aftermath of the hurricane.
The damage harms the region’s already weak economies
Estimates on damages are already running into the tens of millions of dollars and likely to climb into the hundreds of millions of dollars range once they are all counted. Most of the countries in Central America were already facing significant budget shortfalls at the beginning of this year and have been further battered by the pandemic and recession.
Every government impacted by this storm will need assistance from the private sector and international donors.
Reminder of the risks of climate change
Extreme weather events like this late season hurricane add to the regular effects of climate change such as warmer warmer temperatures and drought-like conditions in key farming areas. It’s not the immediate crisis, but adaptation and mitigation are critical to Central America’s long term prosperity.
A challenge for US policymakers
Many journalists across the region have compared the damage caused by Eta to Hurricane Mitch, an event in 1998 that caused millions in damage and led to the US declaration of temporary protected status for Central American migrants. The humanitarian and economic impact of Eta is likely to push additional migration from the region to the US, increasing the short term challenge for US policymakers.
Prior to this natural disaster, President-elect Biden was already planning a four year $4 billion plan to help Central America. This natural disaster may justify an even larger economic aid proposal.
While much of the US is distracted with the start of the presidential transition, there is some help from the US already occurring in the region. This is one of those times that US military cooperation with Honduras, as controversial as it sometimes is, really pays off. Having equipment and personnel in the region that can assist with rescue operations means lives saved.
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