USAID Responds to the Stan Disaster
Impact of the Disaster
Damage Assessment and Implications
Relief
Reconstruction
Press Releases and Fact Sheets
Public Donation Information
Disaster Myths and Realities
USAID/Guatemala has been and continues
to be an active player in the disaster relief, rehabilitation
and reconstruction efforts following Tropical Storm
Stan, which hit Guatemala the week of October 4, 2005.
Several high-level visitors from
the U.S. Government and corporate America came to Guatemala
between October and December 2005 to review the damage
and talk with the Guatemalan people who were directly
affected and with relief organization leaders and government
officials. Visitors included, Deputy Assistant Administrator
for Latin America and Caribbean Bureau of USAID, Michael
Magán; Ambassador Tony Hall, U.S. Ambassador
to the United Nations in Rome; and, Under Secretary
of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Karen
Hughes who toured Guatemala accompanied by PepsiCo's
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Steven S. Reinemund,
Deere & Co Chairman and CEO, Robert Lane, and Asset
Management Advisors CEO, María Elena Lagomasino.
Please see http://www.hurricaneaction.org
for results of their important visit.
Impact of the Disaster
Description | Totals as of October 12 | Totals as of October 18 | Totals as of October 27 |
Dead | 654 | 664 | 669 |
Missing | 577 | 844 | 844 |
Wounded/hurt | 99 | 383 | 386 |
Directly affected | 205,769 | 390,187 | 474,928 |
Persons living in temporary shelters | 120,475 | 108,183 | 76,212 |
Homes debilitated | 5,501 | 24,545 | 25,832 |
Homes destroyed | 1,711 | 8,595 | 9,136 |
Communities affected | 671 | 953 | 1,158 |
Temporary shelter in existing buildings | 464 | 647 | 296 |
Estimated displaced | 3.5 million | 3.5 million | 3.5 million |
Source: CONRED: Government of Guatemala National Council for Disaster Reduction, official verified data.
Damage Assessment and Implications
On October 4, Hurricane Stan made
landfall in Mexico and generated separate tropical storms
across southern Mexico and Central America. Stan spawned
torrential rains that lasted for over five days causing
widespread and severe flooding and deadly mudslides.
On October 5, the Government of Guatemala (GoG) declared a national
disaster and U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, James M.
Derham followed suit by issuing a disaster declaration
to trigger the release of U.S. emergency funds. On October
7, the GoG officially requested assistance from the
international community and President Oscar Berger called
for three days of mourning.
![Volunteers and fireman use inner tube to rescue elderly man in Solola province](news_photos/stan2.jpg) |
According to official reports, Stan-related floods killed an estimated
2,000 across Mexico and Central America. The highest
death toll was in Guatemala, which suffered more than
900 landslides, some burying entire villages. Most of
the dead were concentrated in the populous highland
regions of Guatemala. A significant portion of country
was hit hard by Stan: fifteen of the country’s
22 departments were affected, mostly the western highlands
and south coast. Even prior to the Storm the highland
areas were characterized by high poverty and malnutrition
rates so these communities were especially vulnerable
to the additional impacts of Stan. According to the
GoG’s National Council for Disaster Reduction
(CONRED), the most affected departments in terms of
damage to infrastructure and land were: San Marcos,
Solola, Escuintla, Quetzaltenango, Retalhuleu, Chimaltenango,
Chiquimula, El Quiché, Huehuetenango, Guatemala,
Sacatepéquez, Santa Rosa, and Suchitépquez.
Of these, San Marcos was the most severely affected.
![Ixil Maya women and children in highland village of Vicalama, Nebaj](news_photos/stan3.jpg) |
At least one-third of the national territory (about 36,000 square
kilometers–larger than El Salvador) was affected,
with varying degrees of damage to housing and public
infrastructure reported in 251 of the country’s
331 municipalities. Stan hit the most productive and
populated areas of the country and the GoG estimates
that some 3.5 million Guatemalans (30% of total population)
suffered either loss of life, property or access to
basic services. Poor and marginalized groups--mainly
indigenous women and children--who typically lack access
to basic services were especially vulnerable to the
impact of the disaster. Cases of hepatitis A and cholera
caused by contaminated water were reported in affected
communities as well as outbursts of violence in crowded
temporary shelters.
![Bus being pushed through floodwaters in Escuintla on South coast](news_photos/stan4.jpg) |
The impact of Stan on Guatemala’s infrastructure and economy
was daunting: roads, bridges, telecommunications, and
energy infrastructure were destroyed leaving many communities
out of touch and unreachable by disaster relief teams.
The Ministry of Education reported that 485 schools
were damaged or totally destroyed. The initial assessment
of losses by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Non-Traditional
Export Products Association (AGEXPRONT) was upwards
of $530 million for the short- to medium-term, including
the near complete loss of bananas and shrimp grown on
the South Coast, and major losses in cattle, sugar crop,
horticulture, and short cycle crops. This implied immediate
loss of revenue and unemployment on a grand scale, both
in the directly and indirectly affected areas that are
the source of migrant workers. There were also immediate
and significant losses in the tourism infrastructure
in the towns around Lake Atitlán, Sololá
and Quetzaltenango. The ECLAC damage assessment, issued
on November 8, indicated that the overall economic impact
of Stan was just shy of $1 billion.
Relief
AA USAID/Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster
Assistance (OFDA) assessment team was on the ground
immediately after the disaster struck and reported that
the most urgent priorities for emergency assistance
were health, water and sanitation, and shelter. The
U.N. Joint Flash Appeal for $21.6 million issued October
10, 2005 highlighted the need for food, water, temporary
shelter, bedding, essential medicines, and hygiene and
sanitation facilities, as well as repair of public infrastructure.
A group of international and local NGOs formed a coordinating
committee, which included a rotating CONRED representative,
and worked to identify relief and rehabilitation needs
and to ensure coordination of assistance over the initial
post-Stan period. NGO members included but were not
limited to: CARE, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Mercy
Corps, Red Cross International, Save the Children and
SHARE/Guatemala.
![U.S. Army soldiers work with disaster relief volunteers to load helicopters with emergency supplies](news_photos/stan7.jpg) |
On October 10, General Craddock, head of U.S. military Southern
Command visited Guatemala and committed to keep nine
U.S. military helicopters working on emergency relief
activities and to bring in transport planes and more
equipment, as well as continue search and rescue efforts
to relief, supply, and technical assessments. Between
October 11 and 17, the team had delivered 161 tons of
food, medical supplies and communications equipment,
evacuated 41 people, and flown Guatemalan firefighters,
aid workers and doctors to communities in need. Immediate
emergency relief efforts were seriously hampered by
ongoing rain and low cloud cover. Many remote communities
were cut off by damaged roads, telecommunications, swollen
rivers and mudslides. Helicopters were essential in
working to get supplies to these communities. USAID/OFDA,
USAID/Guatemala and the U.S. military coordinate closely
with CONRED for transport and distribution of relief
commodities to affected communities. The U.S. military
team that arrived in country to provide humanitarian
assistance departed Guatemala on October 26.
USAID Humanitarian Assistance to Date
Date | Assistance Description | USD Total |
New Funds |
5/Oct/05 | Local purchase and distribution of emergency relief supplies (food and potable water) and helicopter support (fuel). | $150,000 |
7,8 and 13/Oct/05 | Airlifts one, two, and three with hygiene kits, nylon sheeting for temporary shelters, and blankets and air transport of emergency relief supplies | $790,000 |
12/Oct/05 | Emergency grants to NGO partners for emergency health, water and sanitation and shelter. | $3 million |
12/Oct/05 | Emergency health, water and sanitation, and shelter activities in response to U.N. Flash Appeal | $200,000 |
17/Oct/05 | USAID donation to U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) - in response to U.N. Flash Appeal | $2 million |
14/Nov/05 | USAID donation to U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) | $2 million |
18/Nov/05 | Nylon sheeting for temporary shelters (500 rolls) | $189,895 |
Sub-Total (New Funds) | $8,329,895 |
Reprogrammed Funds |
17/Oct/05 | Reprogrammed funds from existing USAID/Guatemala food security programs | $1 million |
17/Oct/05 - Nov/05 | Reprogrammed funds from existing USAID/Guatemala health programs (ground transportation for disaster relief and $1 million in USAID alliance funds that are leveraging 5x more in local private sector donations for disaster relief/reconstruction) | $1,100,000 |
Sub-Total (Reprogrammed Funds) | $2,100,00 |
Total USAID Assistance | $10,429,895 |
US Military Assistance:
Operations | $4 million |
Jet Fuel | $594,000 |
Donation of ambulances, fire trucks, construction equipment | $1,058,000 |
Total Military Assistance | $5,652,000 |
Inter-American Foundation (IAF):
Grants to local NGOs (planned) | $748,497 |
Animal and Plant Health Service (APHIS):
Equipment for veterinarians working on sanitary brigades | $5,000 |
Total USG Assistance (to date)
$16,835,392
Reconstruction
By late October, the attention of the GoG and international donors
began to turn to the country’s reconstruction
needs. On November 8, ECLAC
that estimated the overall economic impact of Stan at
just under $1 billion. The report’s recommendations
for the short-term include the continuing need for emergency
food assistance, restoring productive capacity for the
most vulnerable and exposed populations, rebuilding
housing and closing emergency shelters, and repairing
local roads and small irrigation infrastructure to re-start
production and allow products to get to market. In the
medium-term, the assessment identifies the need to rebuild
and establish early warning systems and community-based
prevention programs, improve watershed management, and
develop Central American regional risk management instruments.
![A little boy poses shyly before his new temporary shelter home after Hurricane Stan destroyed his real home](news_photos/stan11.jpg) |
TThe GoG presented a reconstruction plan
and requested international donor agency assistance
to implement it. The GoG is moving forward on a number
of reconstruction initiatives and has signed an agreement
with a local civil society organization to allow it
to audit its reconstruction programs and expenditures.
(Visit June 24, 2006 at USAID
News for local press coverage of the presentation.)
USAID/Guatemala is moving forward with
a reconstruction plan for the San Marcos area that was
one of the heaviest hit regions and concurrently working
to identify sources of funding. The overarching goals
of the USAID Stan-related reconstruction efforts are
consistent with our three Strategic Objectives--to strengthen
local government responsiveness (in this case, to victims
of Stan), promote rural economic growth, and invest
in and safeguard public health. More specifically, our
objective is to help affected persons in San Marcos
and surrounding areas to rebuild their lives and livelihoods
by: helping local governments in reconstruction planning
and implementation; to promote community healing and
reconstruction through the recovery of bodies buried
by the landslides and provision of mental health services
to families of the victims; increasing sources of rural
income and employment for affected families, and protecting
human health by increasing access to potable water through
rebuilding of water and sanitation infrastructure, and
extending a national epidemiological surveillance system
to Stan-affected areas.
The USAID/Guatemala Reconstruction Program
is scheduled to be complemented by some emergency and
re-directed food assistance, and private sector funds
that will be raised through the Hurricane
Relief Fund. These private funds will be directed
to scholarships for school children and reconstruction
of infrastructure in Guatemala.
The U.S. Government, together with leaders
of corporate America are also working to raise funds
and other support for reconstruction (see www.hurricaneaction.org
for details).
Further Information
USAID
Disaster Assistance: Guatemala - Flood Index
Acción Ciudadana: Monitoreo y Auditoría
Social del Programa de Reconstrucción Nacional
Primer
Informe | Segundo
Informe
10/06/05
- The U.S. Government Donates Assistance and Provides
Helicopters for Emergency Relief - U.S. Embassy Guatemala
http://guatemala.usembassy.gov/pbe20051008.html
10/10/05
- General Craddock Visits Guatemala, Commits Further
U.S. Assistance - U.S. Embassy Guatemala |