Search

Quantitative evidence on the drivers of undocumented migration from Honduras is limited. As a result, policy responses have been reactionary and understudied. Migration flows from the country are distinct from the rest of the region and merit study. By implementing different survey instruments, including focus groups, in‐depth interviews and a nationally representative survey, we build the first nationally representative data‐set on migrant attitudes in the country. Our results show that the propensity to migrate of individuals living in low‐income households is inversely related to human capital accumulation and access to basic services. Similarly, variables linked to networks in the destination country are positively correlated with the propensity to migrate. The prevalence of violence in areas where potential migrants live is unrelated to their migration decisions. This indicates that the focus of migration policy should rest in improving material conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research conducted among socially vulnerable populations caught in the paths of natural disasters represents the forefront of our understanding the health-related impacts of climate change. In this study, we analyze individual-level longitudinal data from the Nicaragua Living Standards and Measurement Survey (N = 3474) in order to ascertain the influence of disaster displacement arising from the Hurricane Mitch event upon two communicable disease outcomes: diarrheal disease and respiratory disease. First, multinomial logistic regression analyses demonstrate that individuals from households headed by women, as well as from households with low levels of consumption expenditures, experienced greater odds of displacement to shelters in the aftermath of Mitch. Second, two-way fixed-effects regression analysis demonstrates that shelter displacement acts as independent risk increasing the odds of respiratory disease, net of socioeconomic and demographic covariates. Our findings draw attention to the confluence of far-reaching entrenched social and economic disparities that create linked disaster displacement and communicable disease vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located at the interface of land and sea, Caribbean mangroves frequently experience severe disturbances by hurricanes, but in most cases storm-impacted mangrove forests are able to regenerate. How exactly regeneration proceeds, however, is still a matter of debate: does--due to the specific site conditions--regeneration follows a true auto-succession with exactly the same set of species driving regeneration that was present prior to the disturbance, or do different trajectories of regeneration exist? Considering the fundamental ecosystem services mangroves provide, a better understanding of their recovery is crucial. The Honduran island of Guanaja offers ideal settings for the study of regeneration dynamics of storm-impacted mangrove forests. The island was hit in October 1998 by Hurricane Mitch, one of the most intense Atlantic storms of the past century. Immediately after the storm, 97% of the mangroves were classified as dead. In 2005, long-term monitoring on the regeneration dynamics of the mangroves of the island was initiated, employing permanent line-transects at six different mangrove localities all around the island, which have been revisited in 2009 and 1016. Due to the pronounced topography of the island, different successional pathways emerge depending on the severity of the previous disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation evaluates the effect of Hurricane Mitch on women's reproductive outcomes throughout Nicaragua. This research aim is achieved by analyzing a unique Nicaraguan Living Standards Measurement Study panel dataset that tracks women's fertility immediately before and at two time points after Hurricane Mitch, combined with satellite-derived municipality-level precipitation data for the 10-day storm period. Results show higher odds of post-disaster fertility in municipalities receiving higher precipitation levels in the immediate post-Hurricane Mitch period. However, fertility normalizes between disaster and non-disaster areas 4 to 6 years after the storm. These findings suggest that the disruptive effects of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Mitch can have an initial stimulative effect on fertility but that effect is ephemeral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the Honduran government introduced legislative reforms designed to generate investment opportunities in energy, mining and tourism and to expedite the post-disaster recovery. This experiment in “disaster capitalism” provided a blueprint for the recovery strategy implemented by the government of Porfirio Lobo after the 2009 coup against Manuel Zelaya. The similarities between these two historical conjunctures necessitate a deeper engagement with the meaning of extractivism in post-disaster contexts, particularly in relation to so-called sustainable tourism development. While multilateral aid institutions have claimed tourism as a sustainable alternative to more exploitative forms of economic development, this paper draws on ethnographic research in a coastal Garifuna community to argue that tourism is analogous with extractivism. By analyzing the collective action and resistance of black and Indigenous organizations for territorial autonomy, this paper elucidates the connections between traditional extractive industries and tourism, both of which rely on state-orchestrated natural resource expropriation, enclosure and dispossession, resulting in widespread environmental degradation and ecological insecurity for coastal Indigenous communities. The paper highlights how neoliberal tourism policies are advanced under the guise of ecotourism and sustainable development, while creating the conditions for extractivism to take hold within black and Indigenous territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses data drawn from the Nicaragua Living Standards and Measurement Study Survey to examine international livelihood migrations from Nicaragua in the years surrounding the rapid-onset Hurricane Mitch event of 1998. The likelihood of an international livelihood migration occurring between the years 1996 and 2001 is modeled utilizing discrete-time event history analysis. While findings indicate no influence of Hurricane Mitch on likelihood of livelihood migration, the Mitch event is associated with increased migrant selectivity according to past household migration experience for migrations to Costa Rica, suggesting these migrations to be livelihood adaptations of those with high capability in the form of access to migrant social networks. In addition, the Mitch event is found to be associated with decreased likelihood of migration by small business owners. This finding is interpreted as reflecting business owning households choosing to forego sending migrants to instead have 'all hands on deck' to assist with business operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large scale labor migration from Olancho, Honduras to the United States accelerated after 1998, when Hurricane Mitch devastated the region and resulted in the United States offering Temporary Protective Status (TPS) to affected Hondurans. As growing numbers left for the United States, the loss of productive youth to migration and the development of new local economic opportunities combined to create shortages of labor available for traditional uses of local natural resources in rural communities. Remittances from abroad and sentimental factors also contributed to the erosion of local labor supplies, leading some rural producers to phase back on mixed cropand- livestock strategies and focus more exclusively on cattle production for milk, other dairy products, breeding stock, and meat. This transition has, in turn, had repercussions for local land use, contributing to deforestation for pasturelands at the same time new demands for wood for carpentry workshops has emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses tallest active volcano in Nicaragua and unspoiled rainforest around the San Juan River that is listed as United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserves dealing with the environmental conditions and economic changes in the country. Topics include poverty in Nicaragua, tourism prospects, and environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) by the government. Also discussed is the impacts on Hurricane Mitch in Central America.

Rainfall-induced natural disasters rank first among all natural disasters in Central America. Due to the geographical conditions of the Central American region, it is common that two or more countries are struck by the same rainfall event, for example Hurricane Mitch in 1998 affected the entire Central American region, killing more than 18 000 people. As a consequence, Central American countries have started to promote regional policies and programs that aim for better preparation and response to these events, including disaster management cooperation. However, cooperation poses several challenges that may hinder its goals. In order to analyse these challenges, we present analysis in this paper of the current policy and legal institutions as well as the main challenges that may hinder international disaster management cooperation in Central America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El Salvador and Central America in general are highly prone to landsliding. In November 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed 240 people, displaced about 85,000 people, caused more than $600 million in economic losses, and damaged about 60 % of the nation's roads (Rose et al. in Natural hazards in El Salvador. Geologic Society of America of special paper 375, Boulder, ). An understanding of susceptibility of locations to landsliding is critical for development and mitigation planning. This work presents the development of the Normalized Landslide Index Method which is a derivative of the bivariate statistical methods commonly used in landslide susceptibility assessment. The resultant map was amended through a tangential analysis, also commonly used in landslide susceptibility mapping, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which reduces multi-criteria analysis to pair-wise comparisons. The assimilation of results from the AHP analysis into the statistically derived susceptibility map skewed the original results by emphasizing the extremes already found. It was determined that addition of AHP results did not increase the value of the derived susceptibility map. Finally, a physically based a priori approach to landslide susceptibility mapping, developed by El Salvador National Service of Territorial Studies, was compared to the statistically derived map developed herein. It was found that the a priori approach was not sufficiently discriminant to be useful for planners and regulators, as very large areas were designated high susceptibility that included areas with low slope angles. The development of the normalized landslide index is a significant improvement to the class of bivariate statistical strategies to assess regional landslide susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hurricane Mitch (1998) was the deadliest storm to strike the western hemisphere in over 200 yr, and landslides were a significant component of the storm impact, inflicting direct damage on steep lands and triggering mudslides that devastated valleys below. The stability index mapping (SINMAP) model was applied to a 46.1-[km.sup.2] agricultural area in Central Honduras to predict the spatial distribution of shallow debris slides based on the infinite slope stability model and a steady-state hydrology module. The region was surveyed for geology and depth of bedrock, and 63 soil samples were collected on which bulk density, saturated shear strength, angle of soil friction, and saturated hydraulic conductivity were measured. A digital elevation model (DEM) was developed from digitized elevation contours. The natural variability of soil properties was accounted for in a set of model simulations based on parameter distributions, and results were presented in a distributed probability map (DPM) for slope failure that, in turn, was used to identify the spatial scale of variability captured by the model. Ripley's K-function for distribution of a spatial point process was applied to mapped landslides and to simulated data based on the DPM. Observed landslide locations were more tightly clustered than those predicted by the physically based model, indicating that fine-scale physical phenomena not captured by the model likely play a role in slope failure. Aggregation of observed landslides on a scale of 150 m made the comparison with model predictions more consistent. Both parameter variability and inventory scale are important considerations in the evaluation of a slope stability model.

Summary: The impact of a large covariant shock, namely Hurricane Mitch, is examined in the context of household asset holdings in rural Nicaragua utilizing household panel data from the period. It is found that the hurricane did not have an adverse impact on the ownership of productive assets among the affected households on average. On the other hand, nonproductive asset holdings seem to have been significantly reduced. A further examination confirms that the shock affected the poorest households disproportionally, especially in terms of nonproductive assets. Finally, this study presents strong suggestive evidence of a geographical poverty trap within the shock-affected areas of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Disaster capitalism' refers to political economic processes that take advantage of mass trauma to impose neoliberal capitalist economic policies, facilitating the redistribution of wealth and exacerbating socio-economic divisions. Here the basic tenets of disaster capitalism are applied in another context: how natural disasters can be used to impose exclusionary protected area conservation principles with similar socio-economic consequences and ecological ramifications. The post-Hurricane Mitch relocation of resident populations from Celaque National Park, Honduras serves as a case study whereby a natural disaster, combined with the effects of neoliberal structural adjustment policies, created the opportunity to implement a universal model of exclusionary nature protection. The resultant displacement and increased semi-proletarianization of the affected population effectively served the capitalist interests of international conservation and the agro-export coffee industry and, contradictorily, worked against the proclaimed goals of nature preservation through exclusionary national park policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews how Nicaragua has recovered from Hurricane Mitch of October 1998. In particular, it examines how the assumptions and claims that were made during initial recovery planning have proven relevant in light of subsequent development. 2 One must consider the response to Hurricane Mitch from the perspective of the broader trends that have driven recovery, including household, community and government initiatives and the wider economic context. Recovery efforts have not ‘transformed’ Nicaragua. In fact, market upheavals and livelihood changes in rural areas have had a more profound impact on poverty profiles than recovery programmes. Social protection programmes have been piloted, but patron–client ties and relations with aid providers are still more reliable sources of support in a time of crisis. Risk reduction has become more deeply integrated into the rural development discourse than was the case before the disaster, but risk reduction initiatives continue to place undue emphasis on hazard response rather than addressing vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the impact of hurricane Mitch on livelihood strategies of rural households in Nicaragua. Through destruction or distress sales of productive assets, a hurricane or another natural hazard could induce people with relatively remunerative livelihoods to choose more defensive strategies which allow them to survive, but at a permanently lower welfare level than before. Using panel data from before and after hurricane Mitch, we find that livelihood strategies can be grouped into three welfare categories. Annual farming and farm employment generate low incomes, whereas nonfarm wage employment and livestock farming result in relatively high incomes. Perennial farming, nonfarm self-employment and annual cropping with nonfarm employment take an intermediate position. High welfare strategies were associated with high levels of capital, and the number of people involved was very similar between different years, suggesting that households following low-welfare strategies were trapped in poverty. However, many households moved actively between strategies of different welfare levels. This indicates that there was no absolute poverty threshold, but also that being able to initiate a relatively profitable livelihood strategy was no guarantee that this strategy could be maintained. There is no evidence that hurricane Mitch affected livelihood strategy transitions: livelihood mobility was similar for households inside and outside Mitch-affected areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, one woman's impassioned speech linking women's exclusion from land rights with the failings of Honduras' state-led agrarian reform and counter-reform gathered gale force, simultaneously weakening particular levees of gender-bias while constructing others. Post-Hurricane Mitch organizational practices and reconstruction policies in Northeastern Honduras afforded women access to joint property titles and participation. Yet the practices and processes through which women gained new rights reproduced certain exclusionary gender structures and created new barriers to women's participation. These contradictory consequences speak to recent feminist assessments of women's land rights under neo-liberal land titling programmes and a resurgence of policies addressing agrarian reform, and reveal the broader stakes of struggles for women's land rights. In so doing, they underline the importance of attending to spatial connections and historical articulations between the present and the past, and thus the past and the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuba's medical internationalism is extraordinary, and in many ways the extent of its outreach programme puts the developed world to shame. It is impossible to fit Cuba's actions into any neat theoretical box—quite simply the revolutionary process follows no established paradigm. This exceptionalism is seen both in its approach to foreign relations and in its medical internationalism policy. Indeed, even during the days when it was economically dependent upon the Soviet Union, Cuban actions showed an exceptional degree of political independence. But because Cuba is so different, it is also difficult for developed nations to understand. This is a tremendous pity, for there is much to learn from Cuba's approach to developing sustainable public health systems in poor, Third World countries. There is also a great deal that, on a moral basis, wealthy nations can also learn about Cuba's policy of internationalist solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A flank collapse occurred at the Casita volcano in Nicaragua on 30 October 1998 during Hurricane Mitch. The collapse transformed into a disastrous lahar that completely buried two small towns 6 km downstream (killing about 2500 people), destroyed small settlements and disrupted the Pan American Highway. Based on the knowledge acquired during previous investigations with additional unpublished field data and observations, this study provides a comprehensive review of all previous studies (published and unpublished) on the 1998 Casita lahar and new insights into the initial flank collapse and the current stability. The knowledge on pre- and post-failure geometry, geology, lithology, tectonics and stratigraphy of the scarp area is improved and a summary of available geotechnical data is provided. Lithological characteristics that were significant in the initial flank collapse and failure mechanism were identified. The location of the failure surface was more precisely defined and the number and sequence of stages in the initial failure presented in previous studies have been confirmed. Slope stability analyses were carried out using limit-equilibrium methods. Geological interpretations, analysis of digital elevation models and geotechnical back-analyses confirmed that the flank collapse took place in three stages involving both the northern and southern areas of the scarp and occurred continuously during a time interval of seconds to a few minutes. In the first stage, failure initiated in a highly fractured and altered volcanic breccia in the northern area of the scarp which released a volume of 260000 m3. The flow that developed from this failure removed colluvium deposits at the toe of the slope in the southern part in not more than 40 s. This rapid removal of the colluvium triggered a second stage which comprised 640000 m3 and consisted in the failure of the southern part of the scarp by the sliding of a fractured volcanic breccia over a unit of clay-rich pyroclastic deposits. The third and final stage consisted in a failure of the remaining breccia and the overlying fractured lavas in the northern area and involved a volume of 690000 m3. The fact that future events can affect some remaining settlements and the segment of the Pan American Highway, between Chinandega and León, motivated an analysis of the stability of the remaining slope using parameters calibrated in the back-analyses of the 1998 flank failure. The results indicated that the remaining slope is stable as long as groundwater levels in the northern and southern area are deeper than 65 m and 90 m respectively (relative to the points of maximum elevation on the analysed section) and the colluvium deposits in the southern area are not removed from the toe of the slope. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To explore the institutional ethics of Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM). As a response to the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Cuba recruited over 11,000 students from marginalized communities in 29 countries to study medicine free of charge. ELAM's stated goat is for students to return to their home communities to apply their skills after a 6-year programme. The aim of this research was to determine if ELAM builds capacity for students to serve vulnerable communities in the global South. Study design: This paper focuses on ELAM's selection process and curriculum in order to build understanding of its institutional ethics. Much has been written about how medical schools, in the North and South alike, do a great deal to build institutional ethics where graduates seek employment in urban and wealthy centres. By exploring ELAM's training programme, this study aimed to determine if the school is capable of forming an alternative ethic where graduates seek service to vulnerable populations. Methods: First-person interviews with students, instructors, administrators and government officials were undertaken to build a sense of ELAM's institutional ethics. In addition, a literature review of ELAM's curriculum was conducted through documents obtained via Cuba's online web-portal 'INFOMED'. Results: Document analysis and first person interviews revealed themes of community oriented primary care (COPC), within ELAM's core curriculum and an institutional ethics of serving vulnerable populations in the global South. Students are taught the importance of practising prevention and health promotion at the community level, and alongside rigorous training in core clinical competency, students are to embrace COPC practices as part of their daily routines. Conclusions: ELAM is an important human resource for health capacity building projects. While the quantity of ELAM graduates is remarkable, the importance of this project is the development of an institutional ethic that values success as a graduate's ability to serve the indigent. ELAM's ability to recruit students from vulnerable communities is impressive, and the emphasis of prevention and promotion frameworks at the community level is a badly needed pedasogy for the needs of vulnerable populations in the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying nutrition problems after the emergency phase of a disaster has passed is a critical priority in humanitarian response. Population displacements following hurricane flooding can promote household food shortages that persist after direct effects of the natural hazard have waned. This article examines preexisting social vulnerability and reconstruction effects as critical factors for under-five child nutritional status, alongside proximal household and child predictors. The study focuses on post-hurricane reconstruction almost two years after Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, and compares shelters in the capital with the settlement of Ciudad Nueva, Choluteca. Results have implications for humanitarian assistance practices and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the gender and disaster literature calls for more gender-sensitive disaster relief and research by focusing on the ways in which women are more vulnerable in a disaster or on their unique capabilities as community leaders or natural resource managers, which are often overlooked or underutilised in emergency management strategies. As well as seeking to overcome the (strategic) essentialism that is part of these calls and debates, this paper pays closer attention to gender identity and subjectivity as these are constructed and reworked through the disaster process to highlight the complexities and contradictions associated with women's responses to a disaster. This focus, while crucial to gaining a deeper understanding of the gendered dimensions of disaster, also complicates attempts to create more gender-sensitive frameworks for disaster response. It draws on qualitative research conducted with a number of women in the wake of Hurricane Mitch (1998) in Nicaragua. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to Hurricane Mitch, which struck Central America in October-November 1998, the American Red Cross (ARC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated on a 3-year evaluation of the public health impact of ARC's water, sanitation and hygiene education activities in eight study areas in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The evaluation compared: 1) access to and use of water and sanitation facilities, 2) the use of hygienic behaviours, and 3) diarrhoeal prevalence in children younger than 3 years of age before (February 2000) and after (February 2002) the interventions had been implemented. The evaluation included household and key informant interviews designed to measure these three components. Water quality of community water sources and household water was evaluated by measuring levels of indicator bacteria. During the final survey, an infrastructure evaluation provided a review of the design, construction, and current operation and maintenance of the water systems and latrines. The integrated water and sanitation infrastructure interventions and hygiene education programmes implemented following Hurricane Mitch effectively decreased diarrhoea prevalence in the target communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Part I of this paper presented a detailed analysis of the boundary layer of Hurricane Georges (1998), based mainly on the newly available high-resolution GPS dropsonde data. Here, similar techniques and data are used to study Hurricane Mitch (1998). In contrast to Hurricane Georges, the flow in the middle to upper boundary layer near the eyewall is found to be strongly supergradient, with the imbalance being statistically significant. The reason for the difference is shown to be the different radial structure of the storms, in that outside of the radius of maximum winds, the wind decreases much more quickly in Mitch than in Georges. Hurricane Mitch was close to inertially neutral at large radius, with a strong angular momentum gradient near the radius of maximum winds. Kepert and Wang predict strongly supergradient flow in the upper boundary layer near the radius of maximum winds in this situation; the observational analysis is thus in good agreement with their theory. The wind reduction factor (i.e., ratio of a near-surface wind speed to that at some level further aloft) is found to increase inward toward the radius of maximum winds, in accordance with theoretical predictions and the analysis by Franklin et al. Marked asymmetries in the boundary layer wind field and in the eyewall convection are shown to be consistent with asymmetric surface friction due to the storm's proximity to land, rather than to motion. The boundary layer flow was simulated using Kepert and Wang's model, forced by the observed storm motion, radial profile of gradient wind, and coastline position; and good agreement with the observations was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the earth's climate begins to shift into a hotter and less predictable period, there is a basic injustice in who will suffer worst and first. Nations facing rising oceans and drought are those least responsible for the problem, and they have the least resources to cope with them. To evaluate claims of environmental injustice, we examine three cases where the first signs of climate change are being felt worst and first: murderous flooding from Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, rising sea levels swamping entire Pacific Island atoll nations, and devastation from flooding among squatter settlements in Mozambique. In each case these nations are suffering not only because of bad geography or management. Rather, because of their colonial past and current positions in the world economy, they are brutally vulnerable to forces outside their control. We conclude by offering an explanation for generalized mistrust among Southern nations vis-à-vis Northern nations and the Kyoto treaty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch triggered a large number of landslides (mainly debris flows) in Honduras and Nicaragua, resulting in a high death toll and in considerable damage to property. In recent years, a number of risk assessment methodologies have been devised to mitigate natural disasters. However, due to scarcity of funds and lack of specialised personnel few of these methodologies are accessible to developing countries. To explore the potential application of relatively simple and affordable landslide susceptibility methodologies in such countries, we focused on a region in NW Nicaragua which was among the most severely hit during the Mitch event. Our study included (1) detailed field work to produce a high-resolution inventory landslide map at 1:10,000 scale, and (2) a selection of the relevant instability factors from a Terrain Units Map which had previously been generated in a project for rural development. Based on the combination of these two datasets and using GIS tools we developed a comparative analysis of failure-zones and terrain factors in an attempt to classify the land into zones according to the propensity to landslides triggered by heavy rainfalls. The resulting susceptibility map was validated by using a training and a test zone, providing results comparable to those reached in studies based in more sophisticated methodologies. Thus, we provide an example of a methodology which is simple enough to be fully comprehended by non-specialised technicians and which could be of help in landslide risk mitigation through implementation of non-structural measures, such as land planning or emergency measures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the Hurricane Mitch, that struck in October 1998 and left all countries of the region paralyzed by a large scale of destruction. The storm caused more than 10,000 deaths, wiped out more than 2,000 potable water systems in Honduras and Nicaragua alone, left millions without dependable drinking water, and forced 2 million people from their homes. Crowded shelters created unsanitary conditions and fueled the spread of diseases such as dengue. The disaster stretched national governments to the brink of failure.

Hurricane Mitch caused extensive damage to water supply systems (WSS) on the Northwest Coast of Honduras in October. The WSS of four communities were evaluated to determine the effects of the flooding and landslides that occurred during and after the hurricane. Water resource managers were interviewed to determine the WSS reconstruction policy in use at present in order to formulate improvements in this methodology for the future. In this paper, these policy improvements are divided into technical, health-related, socioeconomic, and legal issues. Water main destruction was the most common type of damage. In the future, water mains should be constructed outside of streambed and off steep slopes. Poor water quality results from the four communities suggest that the use of chlorinators, sediment traps, and sand filters must be mandatory in the future. Given that water mains represent some 39 to 52 percent of the cost of a stream- or spring-fed WSS, the use of wells can often significantly decrease the cost of a WSS. However, the higher cost of maintenance and energy necessary to run the pump is an expense that the community bears and can represent a heavy financial burden over the lifetime of the WSS. Those communities which have difficulties in negotiating the purchase of the water sources necessary to supply their WSS, often lack legal advice. Regulatory and administrative functions of the National Autonomous Water and Sewage Company (Servicio Autónomo Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado [SANAA]) must be separated into two separate institutions to avoid conflicts of interest. An insufficient number of professionals in the fields of hydrogeology and sanitary engineering have delayed reconstruction efforts. This situation could be improved by providing short course education to existing professionals and paying higher salaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras in October 1998, leaving a trail of death, injury and devastating damage. As it tore through the country, the hurricane damaged a number of warehouses which contained pesticides, resulting in the discharge of more than 70 tonnes of pesticides into the environment. This article explores the responses of the Honduran state and international relief agencies to this event. It analyses the use of crisis discourses and their role in the reconstruction process, arguing that crisis discourses may legitimize political rule in the context of a weak state. It goes on to make the point that the shaping of crisis discourses is not the exclusive terrain of politicians but necessarily involves technical experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study using a participatory research approach and simple field techniques found significant differences in agroecological resistance between plots on “conventional” and “sustainable” farms in Nicaragua after Hurricane Mitch. On average, agroecological plots on sustainable farms had more topsoil, higher field moisture, more vegetation, less erosion and lower economic losses after the hurricane than control plots on conventional farms. The differences in favor of agroecological plots tended to increase with increasing levels of storm intensity, increasing slope and years under agroecological practices, though the patterns of resistance suggested complex interactions and thresholds. For some indicators agroecological resistance collapsed under extreme stress.With the help of 19 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and 45 farmer–technician teams, 833 farmers measured key agroecological indicators on 880 plots paired under the same topographical conditions. These paired observations covered 181 communities of smallholders from southern to northern Nicaragua. The broad geographical coverage took into account the diversity of ecological conditions, a variety of practices common to sustainable agriculture in Nicaragua, and moderate, high and extreme levels of hurricane impact. This coverage, and the massive mobilization of farmer–technician field research teams, was made possible by the existence of the Movimiento Campesino a Campesino (MCAC) (farmer-to-farmer movement), a widespread smallholders’ network for sustainable land management.An approach for measuring agroecological resistance is introduced, and it is suggested that comparatively higher levels of agroecological resistance are an indication of lower vulnerability and higher sustainability. However, the effectiveness of practices appears to be bounded by a combination of steep slopes, maintenance and design of soil conservation structures, and extremely high storm intensity.The study concludes that the participatory research can contribute significantly to the monitoring and development of sustainable land management systems (SLM) among smallholders, and recommends a sustainable, participatory approach to agricultural reconstruction following natural disasters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Assesses the extent to which Hurricane Mitch affected the rural poor in Honduras on October 26 and 27, 1998 and whether national and international aid efforts succeeded in providing relief. Characteristics of survey households by pre-Mitch quintile of wealth; Assets depleted as a result of Hurricane Mitch; Costs incurred as a result of Hurricane Mitch.

Hurricane Mitch caused unprecedented destruction when it swept through Nicaragua and Honduras in October 1998. Official reports estimated that 3,332 were reported killed or missing and an estimated $1.5 billion damages were caused in Nicaragua alone. Though Mitch did not cause Nicaragua's impoverishment, the severity of its destruction revealed a deeper crisis that has been troubling Nicaragua's economy for over a decade—an economic crisis aggravated by heavy external debts and structural adjustment policies. Using feminist analysis, the case of Nicaragua is explored to consider the effects of natural disasters from a global perspective and to rethink the long-term merits of structural adjustment and foreign aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate whether environmental contamination occurred in the wake of hurricane Mitch (30–31 October 1998), we conducted a population-based cross-sectional household survey in the barrio of Istoca, Department of Choluteca, Honduras. The goals were to evaluate chemical contamination of potable water and the extent of human exposure to chemicals as a result of extensive flooding. Methods The survey consisted of an environmental exposure assessment, which included assaying water and soil samples for contaminants, and taking blood and urine samples from 45 adolescents aged 15–18 years. We also made a subjective questionnaire assessment of 155 households. Findings There was significant contamination of the soil in Istoca, but no water contamination in the aftermath of hurricane Mitch. The soil levels of chlopyrifos and parathion were 30- and 1000-times higher, respectively, than the Environmental Data Quality Level. However, the most striking finding was the detection of elevated levels of chlorinated and organophosphate pesticides in adolescents. Toxicological analyses of serum specimens showed that 51% of the samples had elevated levels of 1, 1-dichloro-2, 2-bis-(p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (p,p-DDE) (range, 1.16–96.9 ng/ml) (US reference mean = 3.5 ng/ml) in adults). Dieldrin levels >0.2 ng/ml were also present in 23% of the serum specimens (serum levels of this analyte in US adolescents are <0.2 ng/ml). Of 43 urine samples analysed for organophosphate metabolites, 18.6% contained diethyl phosphate (DEP) at levels which were greater that the reference mean of 6.45 μg/g creatinine. We also detected elevated levels of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) and of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (3,5,6-TCPY) in 91% and 42% of the samples, respectively. Conclusions The elevated levels of chlorinated pesticides were surprising, since although these substances were banned in Honduras 15 years ago it appears that they are still being used in the country... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Whereas natural disasters more commonly occur in low-income countries, almost all studies on psychological consequences have been conducted in the Western world. In countries where resources are poor it is of importance to know which groups should be targeted for early intervention after a disaster. The study aims at assessing the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD and of post-traumatic symptoms among people afflicted by hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua and at identifying risk factors for PTSD symptoms 6 months following a disaster.Method: At four primary health care centres, 496 consecutive adult patients were interviewed 6 months after hurricane Mitch regarding PTSD symptoms (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, HTQ), disaster experiences and post-disaster help-seeking.Results: All individuals resident in the area during Mitch were judged to have experienced a trauma fulfilling A criteria for PTSD. Regarding more specific traumas, 39% reported a close relative to be dead or seriously injured and 72% had their house partly or completely destroyed. Prevalence of PTSD ranged from 9.0% in the worst afflicted area to 4.5% in a less damaged area. From a dimensional perspective, PTSD symptoms according to HTQ 6 months after the disaster were significantly associated with the death of a relative (beta-coefficient 0.257, P = 0.000), a house destroyed (beta-coefficient 0.148, P = 0.001), female sex (beta-coefficient 0.139, P = 0.001), previous mental health problems (beta-coefficient 0.109, P = 0.009) and illiteracy (beta-coefficient 0.110, P = 0.009). Those with previous mental health problems (OR = 4.84; 95% CI = 3.04-7.66) were more likely than others to seek from help, any source whereas the opposite was true for illiterate people (OR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.21-0.69). Of all respondents, 8.5% reported that they had thought of taking their lives, and illiterates (OR 2.84; 95% CI = 1.12-4.37) and those with previous mental health problems (OR 2.84; 95% CI = 1.12-4.57) were at particular risk for suicidal problems. One year after Mitch, half of those identified as PTSD cases at 6 months still fulfilled the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis.Conclusion: PTSD represents a serious mental health problem after a disaster. Those with illiteracy, females and those with previous mental health problems should be targets for early post-disaster intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the effects of the 1998 Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. Description on Hurricane Mitch's devastation in Tegucigalpa and Choluteca, Nicaragua; Role of non-governmental organizations in the reconstruction of Honduras; Economic conditions in Honduras.

Probes into the political implications of the 1998 Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. Views of Noemi Espinoza, president of the Christian Commission for the Development on Hurricane Mitch; Effect of Hurricane Mitch on the military institution of Honduras; Controversy on the repeal of Article 107 of the Honduran Constitution concerning landownership of foreigners.

Probes into the role political institutions play during disasters or calamities in Central America. Statistics on 1998 Hurricane Mitch casualties in Nicaragua; Discussion on the social conditions of Posoltega in Nicaragua; Criticism on the actions of Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman concerning Hurricane Mitch.

Presents the testimonies from survivors of Hurricane Mitch in the Central American countries' Honduras and Nicaragua on October 1998. Estimated number of dead on the floods and mudslides in Posoltega, Nicaragua; Importance of Lake Managua for the Acahualinca neighborhood in Managua, Nicaragua; Factors that worsen the impact of Hurricane Mitch.

Shallow landslides induced by heavy rainfall events represent one of the most disastrous hazards in mountainous regions because of their high frequency and rapid mobility. Recent advancements in the availability and accessibility of remote sensing data, including topography, land cover and precipitation products, allow landslide hazard assessment to be considered at larger spatial scales. A theoretical framework for a landslide forecasting system was prototyped in this study using several remotely sensed and surface parameters. The applied physical model SLope-Infiltration-Distributed Equilibrium (SLIDE) takes into account some simplified hypotheses on water infiltration and defines a direct relation between factor of safety and the rainfall depth on an infinite slope. This prototype model is applied to a case study in Honduras during Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Two study areas were selected where a high density of shallow landslides occurred, covering approximately 1,200 km. The results were quantitatively evaluated using landslide inventory data compiled by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) following Hurricane Mitch's landfall. The agreement between the SLIDE modeling results and landslide observations demonstrates good predictive skill and suggests that this framework could serve as a potential tool for the future early landslide warning systems. Results show that within the two study areas, the values of rates of successful estimation of slope failure locations reached as high as 78 and 75%, while the error indices were 35 and 49%. Despite positive model performance, the SLIDE model is limited by several assumptions including using general parameter calibration rather than in situ tests and neglecting geologic information. Advantages and limitations of this physically based model are discussed with respect to future applications of landslide assessment and prediction over large scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]