President Manuel Zelaya declares National Emergency in Honduras

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya declared a nationwide state of emergency today, in order to address the damage caused by the storms and floods around the country.

Zelaya gave a detailed report on the damages caused by the rains and the actions the government is taking to confront the situation. There are plans to attend those displaced by the storms, repair storm-damaged roads and help farmers who have seen entire crops destroyed.

Marcos Burgos, head of COPECO (Permanent Contingencies Commission), said today that so far, eleven people had been reported dead and two are missing. Five died yesterday in Colonia Los Laureles in Tegucigalpa, after their house collapsed due to a landslide at around 3:30 am, burying an entire family inside.

Burgos also said that storm-related incidents due to the tropical depression have occurred in 312 communities of 48 municipalities in 16 of the 18 departments in Honduras.

He also warned that weather forecasts indicate that the rain will persist for at least the next 48 hours, and that COPECO estimates that the total number of affected people could escalate to 200,000.

President Zelaya stated today that the Secretary of Finance has been instructed to transfer all the funds necessary to COPECO and the Minister of Defense, to attend the national emergency. Funds are also going to be transferred to the different municipalities that need financial support to attend the needs of displaced residents.

Actions are also being taken to bring food to the almost 11,000 refugees and over 200,000 evacuees around the country.

Zelaya also instructed the International Relations Ministry and international cooperation agencies, to immediately start providing humanitarian aid with foreign organizations and Honduran ally countries.

At the same time, the President called upon local and regional authorities, businessmen, churches, and humanitarian organizations to collaborate their efforts in order to address the national emergency.