Honduras: Red Alert in 140 Municipalities Due to Drought

Honduras' Secretariat for Risk and Contingency Management (Copeco) on Thursday declared a red alert in 140 municipalities in the country due to drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

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"What we are trying to do is take preventive actions to take the necessary measures to address the problem of food shortages," Juan José Reyes, head of Copeco's Early Warning Department, said at a press conference.

A yellow alert was declared in another 101 of the country's 298 municipalities, while 57 municipalities in the departments of Gracias a Dios, Cortés, and Ocotepeque are under the green alert of prevention.

"The Red Alert for meteorological drought is due to a 40 percent national rainfall deficiency," Reyes,said. According to Copeco, the country's main rivers register "a very low level in their flows," resulting in a reduction in the capacity of the dams. 

"The Secretariat of Risk Management, raises to Red Alert 140 municipalities in the country, indefinitely by the meteorological drought associated with the El Niño phenomenon, 101 in Yellow Alert and 57 in Green Alert," Dassaev Aguilar director Ministerial Office.

Civil protection authorities, together with the Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG), will continue to monitor the situation to prevent "a deficiency in crops that could generate possible food insecurity."

El Niño will cause a shortage of rainfall, especially in June and July, the effects of which will also affect the country in August. The phenomenon will mainly affect the so-called dry corridor that covers the center and south of the country.

Temperatures will rise, and there will be a lack of access to water for human consumption in many municipalities in the country.

According to the Center for Atmospheric, Oceanographic, and Seismic Studies (Cenaos), the heat wave period will begin on July 10 and end on August 28.