Eleonora Rivera in Managua, Nicaragua
"First the water came into the house and then the level continued to rise. I stayed indoors with my children until the water reached the top of the two beds," explained Ramona Katín who lives on the edge of lake Xolotlán in Managua. "Then we had to go outside and sleep on boards."
Ramona is 48 years old and a single mother with five small children. She tells how she experienced great difficulties during the last few weeks of rain. "The water rose almost half a metre and I had to protect my children so that they were not swept away by the surge of water."
Irregular rainfall is causing flooding and drought in parallel, in almost all of Central America. In Nicaragua, 7,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the last two weeks as a result of heavy rainfall. They have found refuge in 29 shelters and schools across the country. While some regions in Nicaragua, such as Managua and Jinotega, are experiencing flooding, other regions such as Madriz and Nueva Segovia lack sufficient water for the first sowing of maize and bean crops, the staple food in the region. This same situation is occurring in Honduras and Guatemala.
The Nicaraguan Red Cross, which forms part of the national system for prevention, response and mitigation of disasters, is participating in relief brigades in the evacuation of affected families to safety in shelters. They have distributed 1,000 mattresses, together with food and hygiene kits with the support of the American Red Cross.
Reyna Obregón, a young woman of 24 and a mother of three, experienced hours of anguish as she watched the water flood her home and sweep away her belongings. Volunteers from the Nicaraguan Red Cross evacuated the Obregón family to a shelter, together with 60 other families in the Managua area. They stayed at the shelter for five days before it was safe to return home.
"We were frightened to leave and worried that the few things we own would disappear. We stayed put for a day, until one of my small children became ill with flu. Then we decided that it would be better to be safe in a shelter. We took the most important things with us," said Reyna Obregón.
This young woman and dozens of other families from her area live in a high risk zone near to the lake Xolotlán, and their financial situation makes it impossible for them to move their fragile homes to safer areas.
Related Links:
More on: Nicaragua