relief

Since mid-October, Honduras and Guatemala have been hit hard by heavy rains caused by a slow-moving tropical depression. Areas of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Belize have also experienced flooding and landslides. 

A November 6 update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 320,000 people had been affected in Honduras and 150,000 in Guatemala. At least 60 people have been killed and tens of thousands are homeless.

The United Nations has issued an emergency appeal for $17 million to provide relief over the next six months, but less than 10 percent of that amount has been donated so far.

Aid workers say the situation in Honduras is worse than the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch a decade ago, and they fear the flooding will cause malnutrition to rise in a region already struggling with food price inflation. More rain is expected in the coming weeks.