USAID/BHA is responding to Hurricanes Eta and Iota, which caused severe flooding and landslides in Central America when they hit back-to-back in November.

(Photo credit: Orlando SIERRA / AFP)

Key Developments

USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance is providing life-saving assistance to people affected by severe flooding, landslides, and damage caused by Hurricanes Eta and Iota. In Honduras, we are providing blankets, hygiene kits, and kitchen supplies. In Guatemala, we are providing food and relief supplies. In Nicaragua, we are providing emergency food, hygiene supplies, and other relief items. In Colombia, we are providing relief supplies to affected families and equipment for firefighters to clear fallen debris.  

USAID has deployed an elite Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to respond to the Central America hurricanes. We are mobilizing assistance and working with partners to provide food, hygiene supplies, blankets, and other relief items. The DART is conducting disaster assessments and will continue to do so in the coming days to determine the hurricane's impact and to deliver assistance to those who need it most.

Eta—the 28th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season—made landfall on November 3, unleashing heavy rains and severe flooding and landslides across Central America. Iota—the strongest storm on record ever this late in the Atlantic Hurricane Season—was a Category 5 storm and made landfall on November 16 as a powerful Category 4 storm.