IsraAID Guatemala Brings Relief After Storm Eta’s Devastation

The Israeli NGO’s local team will bring urgent aid to the affected area

Israeli humanitarian aid agency IsraAID has launched an emergency response in Guatemala following Storm Eta, which has killed more than 150 people and left 200,000 affected in the Central American country. IsraAID’s locally-based Emergency Response team will arrive in the department of Alta Verapaz, among the worst-affected areas, today, November 9th, bringing psychological first aid, medical support, relief items, hygiene kits, and water filters.

Eta first made landfall in neighboring Nicaragua on Tuesday, before moving slowly throughout the region, bringing heavy rains, flooding, and mudslides. At least 7,000 Guatemalans have been displaced to temporary shelters, with 45,000 evacuated from their homes. Alongside its immediate emergency response, IsraAID’s team will perform a rapid needs assessment, focused on recovery needs in affected communities.

IsraAID has had a permanent team on the ground in Guatemala since the 2018 Volcán de Fuego eruption, which caused significant damage across the southern area of Escuintla. In 2020, IsraAID Guatemala has responded to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, reaching households across the country with guidance on psychosocial support and resilience in the face of lockdown, along with hygiene promotion and food distributions for vulnerable communities.

Donations to support IsraAID’s emergency response can be made through the IsraAID Emergency Response Fund.

-ENDS-

Updates to follow.