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United Nations Children's Fund Provides Emergency Support to Victims of Hurricane Mitch

Tuesday, 3 November 1998: UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy extended her profound sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Mitch in Central America which has left some seven thousand people dead, thousands homeless, and devastated the countries' infrastructures.

"My deep sympathies go out to the thousands of families who have lost loved ones in this dreadful, far-reaching tragedy," said Ms. Bellamy. "UNICEF promises to continue to work with the Governments, UN and NGO partners to do all we can to assist the people of Central America rebuild their lives after this disaster. International support is vital both for the immediate rescue operation and for the longer term. I appeal to the international community to give generously."

The worst hit Central American countries are Nicaragua and Honduras, where whole villages have been swept away and roads, schools and hospitals have been destroyed. Lack of clean water is endangering the health of thousands of people, especially children.

Moreover, weather conditions have severely hampered access to affected communities. Most communities are only reachable by air.

For the first time this week, helicopters were able to fly to the worst hit areas in Nicaragua, where at least 400,000 people have been affected, one tenth of the population. One avalanche area has been sealed off and declared a cemetery, so exact numbers of fatalities will never be known. Hundreds of other people, many of them women and children, are still trapped in mud and will die if help cannot reach them soon, according to reports from UNICEF officials.

UNICEF has made arrangements for the immediate shipment of 500,000 sachets of oral rehydration salts and has provided 20,000 US dollars of medicines for those affected in Nicaragua.

In Honduras, UNICEF is distributing food for 3,300 people, clean water for 62,500 people for one week, essential drugs for infectious diseases for 2,000 people and blankets for 5,000. Some 90 percent of all roads and bridges have been swept away. The country could take up to 40 years to recover.

Guatemala and Belize have also suffered to a lesser degree. About 21 people have died in Guatemala, and 500,000 have been affected. In Belize, UNICEF presented a cheque for 36,000 USD to the Prime Minister to support families in greatest distress. The UNICEF Representative said that outbreaks of malaria and cholera are expected in the near future.

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