Top UN official warns that Central American flooding is "major disaster"

A top UN official on Tuesday warned that the devastating flooding in Central America is a " major disaster and one that is far from over." Catherine Bragg, UN assistant-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said at a news briefing here that "that is only the beginning of a six-month crisis." "People have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and they need help and we must not let them down," Bragg said. Last Wednesday, Bragg left on a four-day visit to Nicaragua and El Salvador to evaluate the impact of recent flooding in Central America. "For the hundreds of thousands of people, it is a major disaster and one that is far from over," Bragg warned. In Nicaragua, "the scale of the disaster is so large that is beyond their capability to manage alone," Bragg said. At the end of October, the United Nations called upon the international community for 14.3 million U.S. dollars to assist 134,000 Nicaraguans affected by severe flooding over the next six months, and another 15.7 million U.S. dollars to about 300,000 victims in El Salvador. "We sincerely hope the donors will give more," Bragg said, noting that the appeals were modestly funded. The World Food Program (WFP) said that recurrent natural disasters are exacerbating the food security situation of both rural and urban populations in Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. The agency launched emergency appeals to provide food relief to about 300,000 people in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras, who have been suffering from the impact of natural disasters and high food prices. The torrential rains have so far impacted five Central American countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Mexico, affecting nearly 570,000 people and left more than 80 dead, UN officials said.