Tropical Storm Alma hits Central America

The first tropical storm of the 2008 Eastern Pacific season, Alma, lashed the west coast of Costa Rica and Nicaragua with heavy rains and strong winds on Thursday 28 May 2008. The storm reached land on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, near the city of Leon, moved further into Honduras and reached El Salvador as a tropical depression.

In Costa Rica, where the government had declared a Red Alert on Thursday, most affected areas are Puntarenas and Guanacaste – the same regions that were hit by October 2007 floods (ACT Rapid Response Fund 30/2007 from 2 November 2007). According to the Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias (CNE), 2,500 people were directly affected by floods and landslides in 30 communities. More than 150 houses have suffered damage, as well as 24 roads and 6 bridges. 162 shelters have been opened across the country.

The ACT member Lutheran Church of Costa Rica (ILCO) has been monitoring the situation through the information received from the Emergency Operation Center (Centro de Operaciones de Emergencia – COE) as well as from the communities where ILCO has a presence. Some of the families which had not completely recovered from last year’s floods are particularly badly hit. ILCO is therefore planning to submit a Rapid Response Fund or Appeal proposal to the ACT Coordinating Office which would include food distribution, agriculture rehabilitation and house reconstruction. More information will be collected in the next days.

In Nicaragua, hardest hit areas were Leon and Chinandega. Three deaths have been reported as well as ten missing. Some of the houses suffered damage to their roofs. A response is being coordinated by the Government. Most people evacuated could regain their house. ACT forum members in Nicaragua are monitoring the situation and might respond locally. No RRF or appeal is planned for the moment.

In Honduras, the most affected area was Choluteca, in the South-Eastern side of the country. ACT forum members in Honduras are monitoring the situation as well but no request will be put to ACT.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org).