As Mitch moved inland over Honduras winds reduced but torrential rainfall continued causing widespread flooding and landslides. Large-scale and indiscriminate damage was caused to infrastructure which affected all aspects of economic, social and psychological life in Honduras. Almost 7,000 deaths were confirmed, thousands of people remain missing and over 2 million people were displaced. Northwest of the capital city Tegucigalpa, GOAL's initial response was to provide essential food and emergency supplies to hundreds of vulnerable families living in the region. The house building programme directly involved the communities for whom the houses are being built.
Beneficiaries are part of the building teams and they receive a food ration for their work.
The situation in Honduras was exacerbated in September 1999, when flooding caused large-scale damage and a further state of emergency was declared. During her official visit to Honduras President of Ireland Mary McAleese visited the GOAL site in Comayagua to view progress.