![]() ![]() ![]() Already, 404,500 people in Guatemala and Honduras are living in overcrowded temporary shelters where it is difficult or impossible for people to take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as well as various mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever and malaria. That these storms hammered countries already struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic only heightens the challenges they will face in safely sheltering people displaced by the storms and eventually rebuilding and recovering from everything that was lost. 5 The twin hurricanes followed two tropical storms, Amanda and Cristobal, that at the beginning of the 2020 hurricane season caused deadly and destructive flooding and landslides in El Salvador. 4 Two weeks later, Hurricane Iota, another Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Nicaragua and followed a path similar to that of Eta, impacting communities already reeling from the first storm as well as many other communities. Hurricane Eta, after making landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane on November 3, brought torrential rainfalls and high winds resulting in flooding and landslides that wiped out entire communities in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. TPS was created by statute in 1990 for precisely this circumstance and is a key tool to both shelter and protect foreign nationals and to provide countries that have suffered cataclysmic damage the time and space they need to adequately rebuild. 3 Offering TPS to eligible nationals of designated countries who are already residing in the United States would allow them to apply for temporary permission to remain in the country and work lawfully rather than being forced to return to unsafe conditions in countries that are currently incapable of adequately receiving them. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the State Department, should use its authority to designate Guatemala for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and redesignate El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. ![]() 2 However, the United States can do more. Agency for International Development (USAID) to help Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Colombia and providing rescue services and delivering aid through the U.S. The United States has responded by offering humanitarian assistance and financial and logistical support to aid in recovery and rebuilding efforts, including allocating $48 million in humanitarian assistance through the U.S. While it will take time to know the full extent of the damage, Oxfam reports that so far 11 million people have been affected throughout the region, with 800,000 evacuated from their communities. In November, two deadly hurricanes, Eta and Iota, hit several Central American countries back to back, causing widespread devastation from high winds, landslides, mudslides, and flooding across Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and other countries. ![]()
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