Central America Struggles in Wake of Hurricane Stan

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) mobilized disaster and health experts from its headquarters and country offices to help Central America recover from the effects of Hurricane Stan, which swept through the isthmus in early October.

The Category-1 storm unleashed torrential rains, causing deadly flooding and mudslides in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and parts of southern Mexico.

In Guatemala, the hardest-hit country, the death toll was preliminarily estimated at 654, not including some 500 to 1,400 residents of an entire village that was buried under 40 feet of mud. The flooding and mudslides destroyed more than 8,000 homes and forced more than 140,000 Guatemalans to seek refuge in temporary shelters. The storm also caused severe damage to roads and bridges, cutting many areas off from badly needed food and assistance.

In neighboring El Salvador, the hurricane was preceded by a volcanic eruption on Oct. 1 that required the evacuation of some 5,800 people. Flooding and mudslides claimed 69 lives and forced more than 70,000 people into temporary shelters.

Southern Mexico suffered extensive damage and loss of infrastructure, including 87 damaged health facilities, and more than 100,000 people were forced to take refuge in shelters.

In both El Salvador and Guatemala, PAHO helped country officials set up the SUMA computerized system for managing humanitarian supplies. The PAHO system allows officials to track and distribute donations according to established needs and priorities, ensuring more efficiency and transparency.

In Guatemala, PAHO's country office mobilized to support the Ministry of Health, providing technical cooperation for the ministry's emergency monitoring center and participating in four field teams that carried out health needs assessments and provided emergency health information in affected areas. At the ministry's request, PAHO purchased $45,700 worth of emergency medicines and dispatched its regional advisor on mental health to help develop a mental health action plan for the affected population.

In El Salvador, PAHO mobilized five relief-support teams that worked side by side with Ministry of Health staff visiting shelters, assessing health needs, conducting epidemiological surveillance, disseminating information, and helping to organize nutrition, mental health, prevention and treatment services. The PAHO/WHO office also set up an emergency monitoring center and supported a similar center at the Ministry of Health.

In El Salvador, PAHO is also assisting in the reconstruction phase, advising U.N. agencies on the design of healthy housing and coordinating environmental risk assessments and proposals for disaster prevention and mitigation.

PAHO joined other United Nations agencies in launching an emergency appeal for $21.7 million in relief aid for Guatemala and $7 million for El Salvador, following earlier appeals for more than $1.5 million. In addition, the Pan American Health and Education Foundation, PAHO's private philanthropic partner, launched appeals for funds to support reconstruction efforts in both Guatemala and El Salvador.

	The Pan American Health Organization Promoting Health in the Americas