CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM
CWS SITUATION REPORT: HURRICANE MICHELLE
November 5, 2001


SITUATION: Though weakening as it hit the Bahamas, Hurricane Michelle
caused major damage on Cuba, where large sections of the country remained
without power Monday (Nov. 5). The storm killed 5 people in Cuba; 12
people in Honduras, Nicaragua and Jamaica were also killed. Florida was
largely untouched by the storm.

Michelle hit Cuba with 130-mph winds, causing at least 23 homes in Havana
to collapse, the Cuban government reported; hundreds of homes in rural
areas were damaged, as were farms. Michelle hit the Bahamas with 85 mph
winds Monday, causing flooding and disrupting power. Besides Cuba,
Michelle caused extensive damage in Honduras and Nicaragua, which were
suffering from drought. Heavy rains flooded rivers and caused mudslides in
Honduras and Nicaragua. Thousands of people have been left homeless.

In a report distributed by the Action by Churches Together (ACT)
International network, Paul Jeffrey noted that the massive flooding in
Honduras and Nicaragua came almost three years to the day after Hurricane
Mitch ravaged the region. In some parts of Central America, the suffering
is worse now than it was with Hurricane Mitch, Jeffrey said.

Farmers in some of the flooded areas have been struggling for months with
a chronic drought. And now, after the drought, too much rain. "This is
starting to feel like a series of Biblical plagues," said Maynor Ceron,
the emergency services coordinator for the Christian Commission for
Development (CCD) in Honduras, a long-time CWS partner.


RESPONSE: As part of the Action by Churches (ACT) International network,
CWS is prepared to assist CCD in Honduras and CEPAD (the Nicaraguan
Council of Evangelical Churches), which works in Nicaragua's North
Atlantic Autonomous Region, a badly-hit area. CWS is also in conversation
with the Moravian Church in the US about possible collaboration in
Nicaragua and Honduras.

In Cuba, CWS is prepared to assist the Cuban Council of Churches, a
long-time CWS partner, with any material resource assistance it requires.
ACT reported that the Cuban Council has dispatched teams to the most
affected areas in order to assess the damage and the support required for
the victims of the hurricane.

CWS is also in contact with the Caribbean Council of Churches about a
possible response in the Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean that
may be affected by Michelle.

Call the CWS HOTLINE for updates: (800) 297-1516.

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is
responding, contact CWS Emergency Response.

Telephone: (212) 870-3151
E-mail: cherlinger@ncccusa.org
After-hours emergency pager: (800) 780-0853
Web site: www.cwserp.org


distributed by
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