An emergency situation continues in the regions of Nicaragua devastated by a tidal wave on September 2, according to reports from the Augusto Cesar Sandino Foundation (FACS).
Thirty-seven communities and villages, and 16,913 people, were directly affected; 844 houses were destroyed. There are a large number of buried or contaminated water wells and pit toilets, which could cause an existing cholera problem to become an epidemic.
"The value of the economic losses still has not been calculated", said FACS, "but without a doubt it constitutes a new blow to a country which in the last two decades has been tormented by earthquakes, wars, hurricanes, a volcanic eruption and a series of adverse climatic factors that have influenced agricultural production very negatively.
"In addition to human and material damage, the tidal wave damaged the ecosystems of the Pacific coast, particularly the coastal mangroves so important given their role as a nursery for many species. In the wildlife reserves of La Flor and Chacocente near Rivas, an estimated 1.2 million newly hatched turtles have died.
"It will take some time to re-establish natural cycles like the migration of the shrimp larva from the estuary to the sea, and this will mean a diminished fishing catch until that time."
In a meeting on September 3 with non-government organisations, the Chamorro government said that it does not have the resources to adequately confront the emergency. It was constrained by the magnitude of the disaster, the uncertainty of North American aid and the straitjacket imposed by the IMF and the World Bank.
FACS informed the government that it expected to distribute 1 million pounds of basic grains to refugee centres by the end of the week. This was made possible by assistance and financial contributions from Oxfam Belgium, Oxfam UK, Interpares of Canada in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency , Oxfam USA and Community Aid Abroad, Australia.
Five inspection and analysis teams are investigating the situation in the affected zones. As well as people from FACS, they include general practitioners, epidemiologists and health workers from the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous National University of Nicaragua from Managua and Leon.
To contribute to the international relief effort, which is being organised in Australia by Community Aid Abroad and Freedom From Hunger, ring (03) 289 9444.