Natural Hazards Monitoring - 7 July 2021

Official

Severe Weather  
 
Guatemala  

On 6 July, the Guatemala National Coordination System for Disaster Reduction (CONRED, per its acronym in Spanish), reported severe weather events in five departments that affected 1,073 people and caused the evacuation of 55 people. The impacted departments of Quiché, Jalapa, El Progreso, Chiquimula, and Jutiapa reported severe weather caused 3 floods, a landslide, and a structural collapse. According to the Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (EDAN, per its acronym in Spanish), 13 homes have been damaged. Media reported that during the rainy season over 588,000 people were affected, 5,161 people were evacuated, 343 of which were sheltered. There are currently 240 people at risk and 1,500 homes have sustained slight to severe damage. The reports are available at CONRED and Prensa Libre

Tropical Storm Elsa  
 
United States  

On 7 July, the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reported that Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall on the northwestern coast of Florida at 8AM on 7 July. Mandatory evacuations were mandated in Monroe and Indian River Counties; voluntary evacuations are advised in Franklin, Dixie, Hernando, and Hillsborough Counties. There are 20 shelters currently open with 226 occupants. Florida is projected to have enough commodities to account for the predicted forecast impacts. Some short-term outages are anticipated, and utility companies are coordinating support for post-storm restoration efforts. Tropical Storm Elsa will continue traveling along states on the East Coast through Friday, 9 July. The report is available at FEMA.  

 

Unofficial 
 
Severe Weather  
 
Colombia 

On 7 July, media reported the overflow of two rivers in the Banana Zone in the department of Magdalena that affected 5,576 families. After a municipal risk management committee, a Public Emergency was decreed to expedite the distribution of resources to the affected areas. Humanitarian aid has been distributed to 2,000 residents of nine neighborhoods comprising of drinking water, food, and medical attention if necessary. In addition, the department is working on approving an investment of 36 billion pesos to serving the Seville and Rio Rivers to prevent overflows in the future. The report is available at: El Tiempo.  

Tropical Storm Elsa  
 
Cuba  

On 7 July, media reported heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Elsa caused flooding in the Brisas del Mar neighborhood, in Guanabo, Havana del Este Municipality and affected 7 homes. In total 15 children and 9 adults were evacuated to the homes of relatives and friends. Local authorities are working on redirecting the excess water to the ocean. Elsa also caused flooding in the province of Matanzas due to the overflow of the Yumurí River. The report is available at: Ciber Cuba.