Nearly 200 families in the Guillén neighborhood, northeast of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, have recently lost their homes due to a series of landslides caused by the rains and landslides of recent weeks.
As a result, the Mayor’s Office of the Central District (AMDC), which includes the twin cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela, declared the areas of Guillén, Nueva Santa Rosa, Reparto, and surrounding areas a disaster and high-risk area after assessing the damage in the sectors where the geological fault is active and continues to worsen.
Over the weekend, Mayor Jorge Aldana reported that 165 families had been evacuated and 70 more remain to be evacuated.
“Our teams of the Municipal Emergency Committee, the National Police, and the Armed Forces are supporting the relocation of people, knocking door to door, house to house to ask people to leave the city; we have enough equipment to help them move public longings before tragedy strikes, the evacuation is urgent,” said the mayor.
The municipality has set up six emergency shelters for the affected families and collection points for donations, one of which is located in the mayor in the Morazán neighborhood, next to the general fire station.
Meanwhile, the Republic of China (Taiwan) announced a donation of US$100,000 to support Honduras’s government in improving the situation of affected families in the capital.
SOLUTIONS
Mayor Aldana said they are in the process of deciding on a suitable project to provide a “real housing alternative” for families affected by the geological fault in Colonia Guillén and surrounding areas.
During a visit to the affected areas, the head of the AMDC added that they are in the process of “making the right decision”.
After reviewing the situation, the government stated that it could offer these families a real housing alternative.
Aldana said that what matters first and foremost is saving people’s lives.
“We have worked very hard and with great determination to save lives, and at the end of the day that is the most important thing,” he said.
The municipality official confirmed that there were no fatalities “thanks to the timely and coordinated work with all rescue services, relevant institutions, and the central government.”
Aldana added that the restrictions are being restricted to prevent the entry of people; due to the increase in the size of the warning zone, a new process of socialization is taking place with the surrounding families to initiate the voluntary evacuation.
SUPPORT
In a tweet, the United Nations (UN) representative in Honduras, Alice Shackelford, expressed solidarity with the affected families in the capital.
The diplomat added that the Humanitarian Advisory Team (HAT) is already actively supporting shelters and affected communities.
The Embassy of the Argentine Republic in Honduras also expressed solidarity with the families in a communiqué, calling on its compatriots living in the Central American country to donate food and other necessary goods to ensure the well-being of the people.
These can be brought to the sites already established by local authorities.
On the part of the central government, Sedesol delivered 500,000 lempiras (HNL), or US$20,529, in food and kitchen supplies for those affected by the geological fault in the capital.
“This is the first of several food donations that we will make with public funds until we can ensure the complete relocation of the evacuated families,” explained José Carlos Cardona, head of the Secretariat.
The official assured President Xiomara Castro “follows the situation in the Colonia Guillén very closely.”