6 NOVEMBER 2020
Plan International is preparing to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to children and families in Nicaragua in the wake of Hurricane Eta.
It is feared that more than 500,000 children have been impacted by the powerful Category 4 storm, according to UN figures, which has brought life threatening rains, flooding, storm surges and landslides to the country’s northern, central and coastal areas.
Concern for families and children
We are particularly concerned about the welfare of 3,000 families in the Waspam and Puerto Cabezas municipalities, which have been cut off from the rest of the country due to the rising water levels in the Wawa River.
Many in this multi-ethnic region already live in extreme poverty, where recent years have also seen armed conflict and frequent cases of gender-based violence against girls and women.
Plan International Nicaragua teams are urgently working to provide food, clean water and child-friendly spaces in the city of Bilwi, in the north Caribbean region of the country, where Eta first made landfall on Tuesday with winds of 240km/h.
Urgent need for basic supplies and water
Pedro Pérez, Country Director Interim of Plan International Nicaragua, said “Although a full picture of the damage caused by Hurricane Eta is still unfolding, we are concerned for the welfare of thousands of children whose homes may have been destroyed, or are in urgent need of basic supplies such as food and clean water.”
“Plan International Nicaragua is working urgently with partners and national authorities to assess what support is needed most urgently, and deliver support to these devastated communities.”
Hurricane Eta, which was downgraded to a tropical storm on Wednesday, is forecast to make its way through Central America and hit central Honduras on Thursday.
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