CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM
CWS SITUATION REPORT: HURRICANE MICHELLE
November 8, 2001


SITUATION: Cuba and other countries in the Caribbean continue
disaster-response efforts in the wake of Hurricane Michelle. Cuban Civil
Defense reported that the hurricane killed 5 people in Cuba; damaged
nearly 1,600 buildings and destroyed 20,000 tons of citrus crops.

Earlier, Michelle, stalled off of the Caribbean coastline of Honduras and
Nicaragua, dumped nearly two feet of rain during the last week of October.
The resulting flooding, especially in Honduras, is being described as
worse in some places than the Hurricane Mitch flooding of 1998.

The Honduran Permanent Contingency Commission (COPECO) reported that
Michelle had left seven people dead; caused the evacuations of 25,270
people; destroyed or damaged 1,283 homes; and damaged 21,973 hectares of
cropland.

According to a report from Hampton Morgan Jr., Executive Director of the
Moravian Church’s Board of World Mission, the coastal region of Honduras
received as much rain in five days as normally falls in six months. In
Nicaragua, all major rivers in the northeast corner of the country were
flooded, displacing thousands of families, damaging roads and bridges, and
destroying large areas under cultivation.

Members of the Moravian Church in dozens of Miskitu villages on both sides
of the border have been severely affected, Morgan reported.


RESPONSE: CWS is sending 1,000 blankets and 1,000 health kits to the
Moravian Church for its response efforts in the Miskitu region of
Honduras. This special consideration is most welcome, Morgan said, because
the "Miskitu people, especially in Honduras - are often underserved"
during times of disaster, he said.

CWS is also sending a $5,000 rapid response grant to CEPAD-Nicaragua (the
Nicaraguan Council of Evangelical Churches) to support CEPAD’s immediate
response activities in the affected area of Waspam.

In Cuba, CWS is prepared to assist the Cuban Council of Churches, a
long-time CWS partner, with any material resource assistance it requires.
As of yet, there has been no request from the Cuban Council.  The Cuban
Council has dispatched teams to the most affected areas in order to assess
the damage and the support required for the survivors 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 need assistance in the wake of 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


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