Devastating Floods Hit San Juan de Limay – Please Help.

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Devastating Floods Hit San Juan de Limay – Please Help.

You may have heard that Central America has been suffering devastating floods from tropical storms over the past week and a half.  Baltimore’s friendship community, San Juan de Limay, is in crisis.  Can you please help?  Donations are desperately needed for food, medicine and other necessities.  Click here to donate online, or see information at the bottom of this article for sending a check.

Here is a translation of a report by Pablo Fernando Martínez, Minister of Transport, of Nicaragua:

Damage caused by the rains to the transportation network of the country are of great concern and are compared with the effect of hurricane Mitch in 1998. In economic terms, at least 160 million Cordoba will be needed for repairs the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure confirmed yesterday. Pablo Fernando Martinez, said that the last report counted, as of yesterday, a thousand kilometers of roads and highways all over the country damaged and that the situation could become worse because the rains will continue for another week. Martinez also said that they counted more than 30 bridges destroyed that connect the municipalities of the country. What’s more, the situation will worsen in the areas of the rural roads where there are many families are cut off and left incommunicado, he said. The situation is worse in the central and north areas of the country where the heavy rains have saturated the grounds and a great many rock and mud slides have occurred that are obstructing the highways.

Limay is the most hard-hit.

The administrator said that one of the zones most hard-hit was San Juan de Limay, left incommunicado because all four of the routes that lead to the town are cut off. “The four exits from Limay are cut. The routes to Esteli, Pueblo Segovia, Achuapa and San Francisco del Norte are cut. There are many communities (33 in total) with problems of communication.” . Martinez said that for the moment they would have to wait until the level of the waters lowered and the rains stopped until they could begin the repairs so that they could guarantee access to the affected zones and then later to begin work projects to ensure passage through all the routes.

The floods have driven many people in Limay from their homes.  Some are staying in emergency shelters, others are with relatives or friends.  A number of houses are completely destroyed, and many others are damaged.
People have also lost a lot of the beans and corn they planted in this growing season, and a number of cows and chickens have died.  Roads to most outlying communities are impassable; the mayor’s office is struggling to reach them with food packets. People have gone for days without electricity, which means that the system of running water in the central town of Limay hasn’t worked either.  Some water systems are damaged in outlying communities, although thank goodness many are intact.  Quite a few latrines are waterlogged; hence they are currently unusable and even pose a health risk.
So hunger and health hazards are a serious threat in Limay now and over the coming months.  Our friends are seeking our solidarity.  We do have more information provided by the Limay mayor, and we’ll gladly share it with anyone interested; just send a note to CasaBaltimoreLimay@yahoo.com. But please know that this is truly an emergency, and your help is needed and deeply appreciated.
Please click here to donate online, or send a check to:  Casa Baltimore/Limay, c/o St. John’s Church, 2640 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21218.  Your gift is tax-deductible.  Thank you for considering this urgent request.