Tropical Storm Eta

Context

On November 3 2020, hurricane Eta hit the coast of Nicaragua in category 4 with winds up to 150 mph. Eta then continued moving North and caused extensive flooding in Honduras. Two weeks later, the same area was hit by hurricane Iota which was as powerful as Eta. The associated intense rains and their consequences affected more than 1.6 million people in Honduras, including 50 000 people evacuated in emergency shelters.

Deployment

TSF team has monitored hurricane Eta’s path since October 31. A team from our Americas and the Caribbean base was deployed, in collaboration with the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), to respond to possible needs for the humanitarian coordination.

The first step was to evaluate communication needs in San Pedro Sula, where 114 evacuation centres were set up for more than 25 000 people. Most of them have spent more than 12 days in precarious conditions. They are tired and desperate in many cases.

TSF has given a training session to the Honduran Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on how to use satellite lines. These lines have been supplied by TSF to reinforce their programme “Restoring Family Links” and for relief and evaluation operations in the field.

As telecom networks have not been much affected by the disaster, TSF team focused on helping people in shelters by installing Wi-Fi access points. This internet access is essential for them to contact their relatives, and follow hurricane Iota’s path, while staying updated on the latest official information.