Thousands homeless after El Salvador floods now face food shortage

About 10,000 people in El Salvador need emergency food aid after devastating floods washed away crops, the UN World Food Program warned. Three days of national mourning are being held after at least 152 people in the floods. At least 49 of the dead are believed to be children. Thousands of homes have been destroyed, and more than 13,000 people are living in shelters. Others have moved to different parts of the country to live with family.

Large parts of the country are without electricity and clean water. Five departments across the country are under a state of emergency. Rescue efforts are centring on San Vicente department, where 72 people were still missing after three days of driving rain."The situation remains grave,” said Civil protection chief Jorge Melendez. “We need to open up access routes into about 37 towns that at the moment are totally covered with tonnes of earth, rocks and trees." The areas around the capital, San Salvador, and the central province of San Vicente were hit hardest.

Hurricane Ida struck last Thursday in Nicaragua, which neighbours El Salvador, drenching the Central American country, destroying homes and schools and resulting in flash flooding and mud slides. Heavy rains then cut through El Salvador and washed away crops across the region, leaving survivors to face the dangerous lack of a stable food supply.The UN World Food Programme aims to deliver 90 tonnes of aid to the area in the coming days. But access will be difficult because civil defence authorities say 18 bridges and many more roads have been destroyed. Heavy machinery has been brought in to try to reach some of the villages, which have been cut off for days.

President Funes has blamed previous Salvadorian governments for failing to put in place preventions that could have reduced the worst effects of the floods. He has also called on the country to release $150m of international aid money immediately.“There is severe damage and loss of life," said a spokesman for Save the Children in El Salvador. "We are moving quickly to distribute emergency items to help children and their families through this crisis, including food, water, mosquito nets and plastic sheeting for shelter." Ida, which passed the country three days ago, was downgraded to a tropical storm as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico on Monday.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children