April 19, 2013

What happened this week?

Ecuador. A flood alert has been issued in areas between Santa Ana and Chone
While some areas of Santa Ana and Chone already flooded, overflow alerts have also been issued for the Portoviejo river, on the villages in Manabi. The National Secretariat for Risk Management warned residents of possible flooding due to leakage of water from the dam Poza Honda, which is filled to capacity.
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Colombia. Emergency in Risaralda caused by a storm of gale force winds
Over 300 homes were hit by a storm of gale force winds in Risaralda. Three injuries and one death have suffered from the effects of the storm. Pereira, La Virginia and Dosquebradas were the municipalities most affected by the rains with gale force winds that flooded and damaged homes, and also generated landslides in this area of ​​Colombia.
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USA. The National Weather Service (NWS) confirms nearly 70-mile-long damage path from killer Mississippi tornado
The large and violent tornado that tore a destructive path across two counties in east-central Mississippi on Thursday, leaving one person dead and several others injured, was on the ground for nearly 70 miles, weather officials confirmed Friday. Gov. Bryant has declared a state of emergency for the impacted counties to expedite the tornado recovery efforts.
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Honduras. Green alert could be indefinite by seismic activity
Authorities of the Permanent Contingency Commission (Copeco, acronym in Spanish) reported that seismic activity will continue registering in the country, which is why green alert has been issued and will remain in effect for 18 days, especially for the department of Atlantida. From April 10 to date, there have been seven earthquakes with magnitudes above normal. According to information from the National Seismograph Network and supported by the Department of Physics at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH, acronym in Spanish) grades in Richter scale for these recent days have been between 4.0 to 5.2 degrees.
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What's new in Disaster Risk Reduction?

Guatemala. The government speed up housing reconstruction
Some 55 families who lost their homes during the earthquake of November 7, 2012 and living in shelters, are confident they will have their new homes before the onset of winter. For they have seen accelerated pace in the reconstruction. 
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El Salvador. The National Civil Protection Commission approves $ 2.5 million for the Civil Protection and Disaster Mitigation Fund  (FOPROMID, acronym in Spanish) to strengthen the Fire Department
The National Civil Protection Commission chaired by the Minister of Interior, Ernesto Zelayandia in a special session, approved the award of $ 2.5 million, of the Civil Protection, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Fund (FOPROMID),  to the Fire Department for the purchase of fire fighting vehicles, firefighting tools, and personal protective equipment. To improve the fire for timely and effective care of emergencies that may arise in the country.
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