Another disaster is looming for children with hurricane iota approaching Nicaragua and Honduras
Iota is described as a potential “second fatal blow” to children and their families.
Managua – November 16: Hundreds of thousands of children in Nicaragua and Honduras may be in the path of Hurricane Iota just two weeks after Hurricane Eta hit the same region, impacting more than two million people [1] and leaving children without food, shelter and education, warns Save the Children.
Hurricane Iota is scheduled to make landfall [2] on Monday evening or early Tuesday morning, local time in Nicaragua.
“Iota might be the second, fatal blow to children and their families who were already suffering after Eta struck exactly two weeks ago. Many people lost everything because of Eta: their homes were destroyed or badly damaged, their possessions washed away, their livelihoods and crops were destroyed. That has had a deep impact on children, and we already know that many will need further assistance to help them recover from their experiences,” said Victoria Ward, Regional Director for Save the Children in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“A new disaster awaits, with heavy rains and possible floods; all we can do is prepare for the worst and increase support as soon as possible,” warned Argentina Martinez, Country Director in Nicaragua.
“We had just started our support to 24 communities that had been most affected by Eta, and we are planning to deploy more frontline workers on Wednesday depending on the needs and if it is safe. But whatever happens, these countries need support, and they need the eyes of the world on them¨. To support the most vulnerable children and their families in Nicaragua, Save the Children has begun to provide food, drinking water, blankets, personal protection equipment and cleaning supplies to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 and other diseases. The organization is also delivering recreational materials to the local government so that children in the shelters can play and recover from their experience.
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[1] https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20201109%20CA%20Eta%20SitRep%202.pdf
