Nearly 3M People in Central America Rely on Food Aid to Survive

2.8 Million people Need Food Aid in Drought-Hit Central America: UN

At least  2.8 million people in three Central American countries—El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras—need food aid after two consecutive years of severe drought decimated crops and exacerbated hunger among the poor, said the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“People are and have been selling their assets to survive, selling land and seeds, reducing the number of meals a day and reducing their amount of protein intake,” said a disaster response coordinator for Central America at the U.N. humanitarian agency (OCHA).

“Right now the situation is very serious, and it’s fragile.”

Losses as of September 2015 (FAO)

At an estimated 3 million tonnes across the subregion, this year’s maize harvest is expected to be far below average and some 8 percent below last year’s already compromised harvest.

Production declines are expected to be particularly sharp in El Salvador and Honduras, which both saw 60 percent of their maize crops destroyed by the irregular rainfall earlier this year. In El Salvador alone, losses are estimated at $28 million in seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and land preparation. Honduras additionally saw 80 percent of its beans perish.

In Guatemala’s most affected areas, some 80 percent of crops are estimated to have been lost, including 55,000 tonnes of maize and 11,500 tonnes of beans, affecting over 150,000 families.

Suppressed Rains Intensify Drought in Central America

Significant moisture deficits and crop losses occur across much of Central America: CPC/NOAA

Climate Prediction Center’s Central America Hazards Outlook September 3 – 9, 2015: Suppressed rains continue throughout Central America to start the month of September

In the last 30 days, nearly all of Central America has experienced below-average rainfall, as the largest moisture deficits (<25 percent of normal) have been mainly observed in the Gulf of Fonseca region, parts of southern Honduras and western Nicaragua. The drier-than-average rainfall has been preceded by a poor Primera rain season which has reportedly led to degraded ground conditions and crop losses earlier this year. —CPC/NOAA

Prolonged Drought Plagues Central America

Drought severely affects millions in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras

A prolonged, debilitating drought is severely affecting Central America, leading to food shortages and threatening food insecurity in addition to water famine across the region.

A farmer shows his maize crops severely damaged by the drought in Santa Cruz,  southern Honduras (Aug. 22, 2015). A  prolonged drought has affected at least 146 municipalities in Honduras. (Xinhua/Rafael Ochoa). More images…

“Since mid-July, nearly all of the Central America has experienced below-average rainfall, as the largest moisture deficits (<50 percent of normal) have been mainly observed in the Gulf of Fonseca region and in parts of northern Honduras according to satellite rainfall data. The drier than average rainfall has been preceded by both poor Primera rains season which has reportedly led to losses in maize and bean crops over the El Progreso, Zacapa, and Chiquimula departments of eastern Guatemala,” according to Climate Prediction Center.

Climate Prediction Center’s Central America Hazards Outlook

Drought Destroys 75% of Major Crops in Central America

DISASTERS CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
EXTREME WEATHER
STATE OF CALAMITY
MAJOR DISASTERS
DROUGHT IN CENTRAL AMERICA
CROP DISASTERS
RUST PLAGUE
RISING FOOD PRICES
HUNGER
SCENARIOS: 808, [500,] 444, 300, 277, 255, 111, 100, 078, 012, 03, 02
.

Millions of Central Americans face food insecurity due to drought: UNOCHA

Prolonged drought has destroyed up to 75% of staple crops—maize and bean—in Central America, killing thousands of cattle and affecting more than 3.35 million people by food insecurity, mainly in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Source OCHA-ROLAC

• Guatemala. The government declared a State of Public Calamity in August 2014 in 16 out of 22 departments and extended the decree in October.
• An Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) identified a total of 248,000 households (1 in 4 houses surveyed in the dry corridor) with moderate and severe food insecurity.
• In the coming months food insecurity is expected to worsen as families deplete their food stocks.

• Honduras. The Government has declared State of Emergency in the Honduran dry corridor for the impact of crop loss (between 54 to 75%).
• At least 19,559 children are malnourished as a direct consequence of the drought.

• El Salvador. The country is experiencing the most severe drought since 1977, with
  July 2014 rainfall being the lowest in 44 years.
• About 65% of basic grain producers registered crop losses. Of the producers affected in the eastern part of the country, 82% have lost their entire crops.

• Other countries. Drought has also affected crops and livestock in Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica.

“The lack of rain in recent months has resulted in the loss of staple grain crops and death of thousands of cattle in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and to a lesser extent in areas of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The most vulnerable population are families of subsistence farmers, labourers and landless farmers, who are characterized by low income, with limited access to land, basic health services and education, and difficulties in obtaining the basic food basket,” reported UNOCHA.

Related Links

Drought Destroys Crops, Livelihoods across Central America  September 4, 2014

Drought Destroys Crops, Livelihoods across Central America

EXTREME CLIMATIC EVENTS
STATE OF EMERGENCY
MAJOR DISASTERS
DROUGHT IN CENTRAL AMERICA
CROP DISASTERS
COFFEE RUST PLAGUE
RISING FOOD PRICES
HUNGER
SCENARIOS 808, 444, 300, 277, 255, 100, 03, 02
.

Drought leaves millions hungry in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua

Drought has destroyed crops and devastated livelihoods across the so-called “Dry Corridor,” a drought-prone area shared by Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, said the world Food program (WFP).

“Some 2.5 million people in Central America need food assistance due to the combined impact of severe drought, the Coffee Rust plague and a spike in food prices. WFP is working with the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to provide food assistance to 1.4 million people, but there are challenges.”

Millions of  subsistence farmers and day-to-day laborers in Central America “are in a critical situation due to the combination of three factors,” said WFP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“First, they lost their subsistence crops, mostly beans and maize, to the drought. Second, due to the outbreak of the Coffee Rust plague in 2012, coffee production dropped and so did the demand for jobs and the families’ income. And finally, a shortage of beans and maize has caused a rise in food prices in all countries.”

“Some families resort to dangerous survival tactics, such as skipping or reducing the size of meals. Others simply stop sending their children to school to save money. Others send the head of households to Mexico or the United States to find jobs,” he said.

Conditions are expected o deteriorate further early next year because of  poor harvests, forecasters said..

“These people grow mostly maize and beans to feed their families, but these crops demand lots of water,” he added.

Meantime, Guatemala has declared a state of emergency after more than ¼ million families lost their crops due to the drought.

 

What’s New in the Atlantic TS Front?

THE NORTH ATLANTIC CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO

Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook. NHC. NOAA
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
800 AM EDT WED AUG 13 2008

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC…CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO…

1. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN DISORGANIZED IN ASSOCIATION WITH A
BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE AND A TROPICAL WAVE LOCATED ABOUT 300
MILES EAST OF THE LESSER ANTILLES…AND THE AIR FORCE RESERVE UNIT
HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT MISSION SCHEDULED FOR TODAY HAS BEEN
CANCELED.  ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE ONLY MARGINALLY FAVORABLE
FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THE POTENTIAL FOR TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION
DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO HAS DECREASED.  THIS SYSTEM WILL
CONTINUED TO BE MONITORED AS IT MOVES WEST-NORTHWESTWARD AT 10 TO
15 MPH.

2. SHOWER ACTIVITY ASSOCIATED WITH A BROAD LOW PRESSURE AREA LOCATED
ABOUT 700 MILES WEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS HAS BECOME A LITTLE
MORE CONCENTRATED THIS MORNING. SOME ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THIS
SYSTEM IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS IT MOVES
WESTWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH.

ELSEWHERE.. TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS.  —   FORECASTER BROWN/PASCH