Jim Farmelant
On Thu, 05 Nov 1998 17:48:23 -0500 Louis Proyect <lnp3 at panix.com> writes:
>Nicaragua Network Hotline November 2, 1998
>
>SPECIAL REPORT ON HURRICANE MITCH
>
>Last week, northern and western Nicaragua was hit by Hurricane Mitch,
>a
>storm that is being described as one of the deadliest natural
>disasters in
>the country's history. The latest news reports from Nicaragua place
>the
>death toll at 1,071. Of that number, at least 600 people are reported
>to
>have been killed in the town of Posoltega in the Chinandega province
>when a
>lake in a volcanic crater overflowed, producing massive mudslides. The
>Washington Post reported today that fewer than 100 of the 2000
>residents of
>Posoltega had been found alive and that the rest were still missing.
>The
>mayor of the town told a local radio station, "It is like a desert
>littered
>with bodies." Defense Minister Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, who visited the
>town
>earlier today, declared that there could be as many as 1500 dead from
>the
>landslide alone.
>
>Hurricane Mitch is the worst storm that Nicaragua has experienced
>since
>Hurricane Joan wreaked millions of dollars in damage in 1998. Mitch
>was a
>category 5 hurricane, the most severe classification. Meterologists
>have
>reported that the rain that fell during the first 24 hours of Mitch
>exceded
>the total that fell during the 1988 storm. Because of the severe
>flooding,
>174 communities have been completely cut off and can only be reached
>by
>helicopter. Twenty-four roads, 35 bridges, and approximately 5,100
>homes
>have been destroyed by the storm. Although the statistics are
>constantly
>changing, today's newspapers in Nicaragua confirm that approximately
>70,000
>have been left homeless and 2,018 are reported missing. To date, the
>army
>has evacuated 5,000 people, but because so many locations have been
>hit at
>once, and the army has only 7 helicopters, rescue efforts have been
>especially difficult. At the end of this report, we will provide
>specific
>information on the many towns that have been hit.
>
>President Aleman has been widely criticized for the lack of
>seriousness
>with which he has handled the crisis. Last week, despite tremendous
>public
>protest, he refused to declare a state of emergency, and instead
>declared
>some of the most affected zones to be on "red alert." He explained
>this
>refusal by claiming that non-governmental organizations would take
>advantage of a "state of emergency" situation. He told reporters that
>if he
>were to declare a national emergency, "there would be a river of
>profits
>for many fishermen." Toward the end of the week, Aleman had softened
>his
>tone somewhat and began to tell the public that he was not declaring a
>state of emergency because only certain parts of the country had been
>affected. Sources have reported that the president also denied a
>delegation
>of Cuban doctors entrance into the country to assist the victims.
>During
>the 1988 hurricane, Cuban doctors had arrived on the Caribbean Coast
>to
>provide assistance even before the storm had ended.
>
>We have received unconfirmed reports from Nicaragua that President
>Aleman
>this morning finally declared a state of emergency - nearly a week
>after
>Nicaragua was hit by the deadly storm. However, he has announced that
>all
>international aid should be channeled through the government. A number
>of
>major donations from international organizations have already been
>channeled through the First Lady, the president's daughter, Maria
>Dolores
>Aleman. This policy is completely consistent with Aleman's other
>efforts to
>cripple the progressive NGO sector and centralize control of the flow
>of
>humanitarian aid in the hands of the government. Even in the face of
>this
>unprecedented crisis, approximately 20 cargo containers are being
>impounded
>by Nicaraguan customs, with the government demanding that the
>non-governmental recipients of the shipments pay exorbitant taxes on
>this
>previously tax-exempt aid.
>
>The Nicaragua Network, working in coalition with a number of other
>solidarity and faith-based organizations, has been involved with an
>intensive campaign to pressure the Nicaraguan government to release
>this
>aid and ensure that all NGO's be allowed to resume the shipment of
>tax-exempt aid. In light of the current emergency, we will turn up
>this
>pressure. No government should be allowed to impound material aid when
>there have been half a million people affected by a natural disaster
>of
>this magnitude.
>
>The Nicaragua Network calls on all concerned citizens to host
>emergency
>fundraisers in your community or to make individual donations to
>assist the
>hurricane victims. Checks can be sent to the Nicaragua Network and we
>will
>channel the funds to the Augusto C. Sandino Foundation, Nicaragua's
>largest
>secular non-governmental organization, which has been involved in
>disaster
>relief efforts for over fifteen years. We channeled $80,000 in
>hurricane
>aid through the FACS in 1988 and can vouch for their effectiveness.
>Tax-deductible checks should be made out to NNEF/AGJ with "hurricane
>relief" written on the memo line. Send your donation to 1247 E Street,
>SE
>Washington, DC 20003.
>
>A Pastors for Peace caravan is now beginning on five routes through
>the US.
>The trucks on the caravan are almost completely filled with aid for
>Nicaragua and Chiapas, but they can still add vehicles if communities
>would
>like to join. Several vehicles will be returning to the U.S., so late
>additions can caravan back home. Call the Pastors for Peace Chicago
>Office
>at 773-271-4817 for information.
>
>Quest for Peace is launching a three-month hurricane aid campaign to
>ship
>rice and other products for disaster relief. Most needed are monetary
>donations to purchase the rice in the US since Central American rice
>is now
>scarce and expensive. Call Quest for Peace at 301-699-0042 for
>information
>about donating money, medicine, clothing, blankets, or other products.
>
>The following is a compilation of reports that we have received from
>contacts in different regions and towns in Nicaragua. If you receive
>further information from your contacts in Nicaragua, please send it to
>the
>Nicaragua Network so that we can provide the most comprehensive
>information
>possible.
>
>Managua: Towns near Lake Managua, at the northern tip of the city, are
>almost completely under water. The residents of the town of San
>Francisco
>Libre, which sits at the edge of the lake, have had to be evacuated by
>helicopter, since the main road leading to the town is completely
>impassable. According to the October 30 edition of the local daily
>newspaper La Prensa, some 2,500 people have been evacuated, and at
>last
>count 62 houses were flooded to the level of two feet of water. An
>aerial
>photo in the October 30 edition of the daily El Nuevo Diario of an
>area of
>San Francisco Libre outside the main town shows only the tops of trees
>left
>above the floodwaters. The town of Tipitapa, just outside of Managua,
>is
>also heavily inundated and almost inaccessible because of the flooded
>roads. [from Toby Mailman for the Weekly News Update on the Americas]
>
>The Sandino Foundation reports that Managua is completely cut off from
>communication with the rest of the country and that 1,395 families in
>the
>capital have been left homeless.
>
>Chinandega:
>
>In the department of Chinandega, 800 times the normal precipitation
>has
>fallen for this time of year. Reports from municipal emergency
>committees
>in this western department estimate that 6,000 people are awaiting
>evacuation. In the municipality of the city of Chinandega there are
>close
>to 4,000 people in shelters, of whom more than half are children.
>Along the
>Pacific coast of that department, the shrimp industry is suffering
>great
>losses, with a preliminary estimate of US$30 million. Somotillo, in
>the
>north of Chinandega, is one of the hardest hit communities and the
>Panamerican Highway has been completely ripped apart at several
>points. The
>most current official statistics for the department of Chinandega are
>29,000 people affected, 189 houses destroyed and 108 shelters in use.
>[from
>Anneli Tolvanen]
>
>Matagalpa and Esteli:
>
>In the northern departments of Matagalpa and Esteli, the situation is
>reported to be "very dramatic and dangerous" as mountainsides are
>threatening landslides of mud, water and rocks on homes that are
>located
>below. It has not been possible to establish communication with many
>of the
>communities in the area. One journalist reported that 3,500 people
>have
>been reported missing in Matagalpa. The reserves of emergency supplies
>that
>had been collected at the mayor's office in Esteli have been exhausted
>and
>it is reported that no supplies are coming into the city and there is
>little left to be purchased. Some merchants in Esteli are apparently
>taking
>advantage of the situation and increasing their prices. For a book of
>matches, regularly priced at half a cordoba, vendors are now asking as
>much
>as five cordobas. South of Esteli, in the community of La Trinidad,
>500
>people are reported to be isolated as a result of landslides with
>nowhere
>to go for refuge.
>
>The mayor of San Pedro, north of Esteli, travelled close to eight
>hours
>through waters as high as to the waist to give a radio report on the
>situation in her community. That community has been completely
>isolated and
>after three days, 100 people have finally been able to leave in order
>to
>look for food. She talked about the children becoming ill and the
>hillsides
>threatening landslides. She also called on President Aleman to declare
>a
>national emergency so that more international aid can be accessed and
>to
>not politicize the disaster. [from Anneli Tolvanen]
>
>According to October 30 morning radio news reports, in the northern
>town of
>Esteli alone, more than 25,000 people have been affected by the heavy
>rains. According to one Esteli resident all the schools are already
>filled
>with children who have had to leave their homes, and people living in
>the
>poorer neighborhoods, whose houses have been affected by the water
>flowing
>into them, have sought other shelter, some with family members who
>live in
>neighborhoods not so severely affected by the rains. In the northern
>town
>of Wiwili, it was reported on October 29 that 30 houses were washed
>away by
>a river which overflowed its banks, and in today's newspapers it was
>reported that 60 houses in that community are under water. [Toby
>Mailman]
>
>Other: The Sandino Foundation reports that the destruction of bridges
>and
>roadways has also left the following provincial capitals cut off from
>the
>rest of the country: Jinotega, Sébaco, Granada, and León.
>
>We will provide more detailed information on the situation in
>Nicaragua as
>it becomes available. We encourage you to send donations for the
>hurricane
>victims to the Nicaragua Network at 1247 E Street, SE, Washington, DC
>20003. Our phone number is (202) 544-9355, our e-mail address is
>nicanet at igc.org.
>
>================================================================
>Weekly News Update on the Americas
>Nicaragua Solidarity Network of NY 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY
>10012
>212-674-9499 fax: 212-674-9139
>
>
>Louis Proyect
>
>(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)
>
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