International support is vital both for the immediate rescue operation and for the longer term. I appeal to the international community to give generously. The worst hit Central American countries are Nicaragua and Honduras, where whole villages have been swept away and roads, schools, and hospitals have been destroyed. Lack of clean water is endangering the health of thousands of people, especially children. Moreover, weather conditions have severely hampered access to affected communities.
Most communities are only reachable by air.
For the first time this week, helicopters were able to fly to the worst hit areas in Nicaragua, where at least 400,000 people have been affected, one tenth of the population. One avalanche area has been sealed off and declared a cemetery, so exact numbers of fatalities will never be known. Some 90 percent of all roads and bridges have been swept away. The country could take up to 40 years to recover. Guatemala and Belize have also suffered to a lesser degree.