Emergency: Floods caused by Tropical Wave # 12 in Nicaragua

By Andrea Núñez-Flores Rey

• 94% of the water they consumed is polluted.
• More than 10,129 people affected, of which nearly 6,200 are children, according to local authorities.

More than 2,900 persons received humanitarian assistance from Save the Children after the floods caused by the Prinzapolka river, in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN), caused by the tropical wave #12 last July.

Heavy rains caused the overflowing of the river, therefore many families have lost their crops and all the wells were contaminated.Save the Children (SC) carried out a project of rapid response to the emergency to assist affected families in 11 communities located along the river, all of them are Miskito ethnicity: Alamikangban, Auhya Pura, Tuburus, Bethel, AukaMango, Dos Amigos, Galilea, Buena Vista, Limbaica, Klarindan and Ladricola.

The first part of the humanitarian response was the distribution of non-food items, for instance, buckets to collect rain water, blankets, black plastic and mosquito nets, distributed to 500 families (4.441 people, 2,583 of them children). These materials were in an emergency stock from a previous collaboration with DIPECHO, with the objective of attending as soon as possible the needs of remote communities, and it was replace in September.

During the second week of August, Save the Children conducted a food distribution process because crop losses threaten the food security of 474 households, because their production is only for subsistence. The aid has been distributed to 2,674 people, of whom 1,479 are children: 14 pounds of rice, 7 pounds of beans, 11 of sugar, 4 of salt, 14 pounds of policereal and two liters oil per family. It is estimated that this food will lasts a week.

Another consequence of the flooding of the river was the contamination of wells in all communities, which has caused an increase of diseases by drinking dirty water. In September, SC did a study of water contamination and only 6% of the analyzed water is fit for human consumption. Most of the wells have no fences, so they are exposed to contamination by animal feces all the time.

In October, Save the Children conducted the disinfection and cleaning of 26 wells in 11 communities. Therefore, they implemented educational awareness activities to ensure that people keep the wells in good conditions and accomplish hygiene measures to reduce diseases caused by polluted water.

This is the rainy season in Nicaragua, which lasts from May to October, so it is expected that heavy rainfalls will continue. These indigenous communities are especially vulnerable to rising water levels because they build their homes and have their crops on the bank of the river; but also since the difficult access to these populations causes delay in reaching aid.