October 19, 2011

The crisis caused by a succession of tropical storms in Central America grows as the rain continues to fall in El Salvador.  There have been 90 deaths reported in Central America and over 700,000 people affected on a regional level.

In El Salvador the death toll rose by one, to 33, today when a man was carried away by strong currents in a river in Cuidad Arce, La Libertad.  The Salvadoran government is reporting 48,723 people (12,892 families) have been displaced by the storms and are dispersed in 500 shelters nation wide. 

Communities continue to be evacuated in San Salvador, La Libertad, the Bajo Lempa and other regions of the country. 

While conditions seemed to improve yesterday in San Salvador, with some sun shining through the clouds, in other regions like Chalatenango and San Vicente it rained most of the day.  Today rain picked up again and the forecast predicts that it will continue today and most of tomorrow.  The rains have combined with a cold front and the temperature is expected to drop to 58 degrees in certain parts of the country. 

In a press conference Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes said “The intensity of the precipitation, the duration of the phenomena, and the extension of national territory affected puts us in one of the greatest emergencies we have had to confront.”  He added that this crisis is worse than Hurrican Mitch.

The intensity of these storms are being called a direct result of climate change and according to a study released by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean called “The Economy of Climate Change” said that the economic affects of climate change in Central America will become 10% of the GDP of the region by 2050.

CRIPDES continues with its disaster response work in every region of the country.  For updated information about affected CRIPDES communities click here.  

Emergency aid is urgently needed. CRIPDES, alone, estimates it will need $283,323 in order to respond to this emergency.  Please donate today. 

To make a donation, please click here and email us the amount of your donation at  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  so that we can advance emergency funds as soon as possible.  Or if you would prefer to mail a check send it to U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities, PO 95783, Seattle WA, 98145 (but, again, please email us the amount so we can advance the funds).