Floods and Replanting in the Bajo Lempa

Tropical Storm Stan dropped so much rain on El Salvador during the first week in October that landslides and floods occurred around the country, including San Salvador and the area where we work: the Bajo Lempa.

The Coordinadora's office and dorms in Ciudad Romero were converted into shelters until they had to be evacuated too.

Mangrove Radio and other Coordinadora personnel help evacuate this sick woman on a stretcher.
Floodwaters reached Ciudad Romero, which had to evacuate along with all of the others down river. One of the levies at the bottom of the river broke and they hydroelectric dam upstream released, at its peak, 5,000 cubic meters of water per second, the same amount of water that it was releasing for Hurricane Mitch in 1998 (when flooding devastated the region).
Our partner, the Coordinadora, helped to evacuate, shelter, and feed 4,200 people. By October 15, all of those families had returned home to find that the flood waters had destroyed their crops and supplies.

This house in Nuevo Amanecer (the community immediately before Ciudad Romero) is flooded up to the windows.

This corn crop, ready to be harvested, was ruined by flood waters.

They tell us that the most urgent needs, now that the emergency has passed, are for seeds to replant so that families can feed themselves as quickly as possible.

The Coordinadora's Executive Director, Aristides Valencia, warns that "the next eight months could be very hard for El Salvador. Many crops have been lost, so many people may have nothing to eat."

How your gift can help

  • $690 will help a family grow enough food for a year
  • $390 will allow a family to grow corn and beans for a year
  • $122 will provide seeds to start a fruit and vegetable garden
  • A gift of any size will help!