Honduras Weighs Red Drought Alert for 91 More Towns as El Niño May Last Into June
Disaster officials say 103 municipalities already need humanitarian aid, and temperatures could stay two degrees above normal, drying up the water sources rural families depend on.
See where this is ›TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras —
Honduras' national disaster agency, the Permanent Contingency Commission (Copeco), said Wednesday, Nov. 4, that it is studying whether to raise the drought alert in 91 municipalities from yellow to red, the country's highest level, according to the newspapers El Heraldo and La Prensa.
See where this is ›The warning came out of a technical working group on drought management that met Wednesday to review climate forecasts and steps for the most vulnerable areas. At least 103 other municipalities are already receiving humanitarian assistance, and officials said they do not rule out widening that help. Neither paper listed which towns or departments are affected.
Forecasters told the group that temperatures could stay at least two degrees above normal, speeding evaporation and shrinking the community springs and wells many villages rely on. The effects of El Niño could last until June 2027, the papers reported.
Copeco said the government is working to protect food supplies for affected families, to keep up work against water shortages and to build reservoirs that catch and store water for drinking, farming and livestock. “The response to the worst-case drought scenario is being prepared,” the agency said in a social media post quoted by El Heraldo.
The drought adds to a hard season for Honduran families. The country's new anti-gang law took effect this week, and in late October an overflowing Lake Yojoa flooded 14 communities.
