Hurricanes Isidore and Lili leave thousands in need

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October 2002

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Hurricanes Isidore and Lili leave thousands in need
Relief efforts are underway in the aftermath of back-to-back hurricanes, Isidore and Lili, which battered the low lying agricultural regions of western Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula over the past two weeks. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) announced on October 3 an allocation of almost $240,000 for the provision and distribution of emergency supplies in Cuba's Pinar del Rio and Havana provinces and the Dioceses of Yucatan and Campeche in Mexico.

"We are working to get assistance to those who need it as quickly as possible," said Jed Hoffman, CRS' Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. "Many of the homes in these areas are poorly constructed, which makes them extremely vulnerable to the severe winds and rain that come with hurricanes. Our priority right now is to employ a short-term program of assistance to meet the most immediate needs of those affected."

CRS is working with Caritas Cuba to assist more than 50,000 people with relief materials, including foam mattresses and blankets, household and personal hygiene items and building materials. The Archdiocese of Miami is donating food and cleaning supplies for distribution by Caritas, and CRS is working to obtain a donation of 40 metric tons of rice for distribution in the affected areas once authorization is obtained from government authorities.

In Mexico, CRS will be working with the national Caritas network and local diocesan partners in Yucatan and Campeche to assist 40,000 people with food rations and clean water. Due to washed out roads and damaged phone and power lines, precise information concerning the number of homes destroyed is still trickling in. CRS partners are working with the Mexican government to conduct needs and damage assessments to determine longer term actions.

Hurricane Isidore was a Category 3 hurricane when it raked across western Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula. In Cuba, nearly 30 inches of rain and 18-foot waves combined with high winds to damage some 8,500 homes. The storm was later downgraded to Category 2 but remained dangerous with sustained winds at 105 miles per hour. The Mexican government has declared a state of emergency in at least 45 communities in the peninsula, with widespread loss of crops and livestock reported.

Hurricane Lili landed in Cuba with sustained winds of up to 120 miles per hour. Initial reports indicate extensive and severe damage to housing and public infrastructure, as well as local rice and tobacco crops. This damage compounded the earlier destruction caused by Isidore. Although both storms forced more than 600,000 people to evacuate their homes, no deaths were reported.

CRS has worked with Caritas Cuba since 1993, with programming in health and agriculture, as well as humanitarian assistance through the donation of clothing and medical supplies. CRS/Mexico provides support for human rights and peace building in the southern Chiapas region; the agency has recently opened up an office on the United States-Mexico border and is working with the church and other partners to care for migrants and advocate for their just treatment.

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. The agency provides assistance to people in more than 87 countries and territories on the basis of need, not race, creed or nationality.

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