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Hurricane Eta Damage Update

As a valued member of our Water For People community, we wanted to share an important update about the catastrophic damage from rains, winds and flooding in Honduras as a result of Hurricane Eta. 

Our team is safe, but at least one staff member has been evacuated from her home. It will be days until the full scope of damage can be assessed, but as you’ll see from the images below and this video clip, significant destruction has resulted from this Category 4 hurricane.

The entire Sula Valley flooded. There is 1-2 feet of water inside the San Pedro Sula airport. Many water systems in the districts of El Negrito, San Antonio de Cortes, and Chinda are out of service at the moment, leaving an estimated 75 communities in the districts where we work without access to safe drinking water.

In addition to the devastation of the hurricane, the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and could further complicate, the situation in Honduras. One key element to prevent the contagion is frequent handwashing and access to safe water. 

The support of members of the Water For People community like you will enable our ability to move in in a phased approach to help rebuild and restore access to safe water. 

We’re anticipating that our Phase I response will be limited to making sure enough chlorine is available for proper disinfection of drinking water. Phase II will include providing technical assistance to the district WASH offices as they conduct damage evaluation studies as well as the rehabilitation or reconstruction of damaged water infrastructure. We’re still assessing the damage in Nicaragua and Guatemala.

I hope I can count on your continued support to make certain we’ll have the funds that will be needed for rehabilitation in the coming months to restore and resume our important work toward ensuring every person has access to reliable and safe water and sanitation services.

Con profunda gratitud (with deep gratitude),

Daniel Oporto
Director Regional – América Latina
Water For People

You can donate today to support Water For People as we continue to improve resiliency around the world so communities can withstand disasters like Hurricane Eta.

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