Honduras and Nicaragua: Hurricane Eta

On Tuesday 3 November, Hurricane Eta made landfall on the North Atlantic coast of Nicaragua – just south of the city of Bilwi – as a category 4 hurricane, with heavy rainfall and high winds of up to 230km/h. As the hurricane moved further inland and was downgraded to a tropical storm, it exposed Honduras and other Central American countries to heavy rains that have resulted in widespread flooding and deadly landslides. The North Atlantic coast of Nicaragua bore the brunt of the hurricane and people there have urgent needs. These are aggravated by pre-existing vulnerabilities and the remoteness of affected communities, which have limited response efforts. The situation is even more critical in Honduras, where almost 1.8 million people have been directly affected and 38 have been killed by flooding and landslides.