As People Slowly Return Home, the Food Crisis Begins
On the surface, it seems things are returning to normal in El Salvador. The sun is out and shining. School is back in session. For the first time in two weeks, the front page of the papers is not a photo of someone wading through waist-deep water to safety.
Flood water remains in some communities
Director of Civil Protection Jorge Melendez estimated yesterday that 50% of evacuated people had returned home. Nationally, 209 schools are still being used as shelters. Those that remain in shelters do so because their homes are still full of water, as is the case in some communities along the coast, or because hills or mountains still threaten their communities with mudslides.
As people slowly begin to return home (visit our blog Wednesday for personal stories), some say the real emergency begins – the food crisis.
Initial estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) estimate that 98 million pounds of corn, 36 million pounds of beans, 22 million pounds of sorghum, and 9 million pounds of rice have been lost. This does not include the nearly one billion pounds of basic grains at risk. In terms of fruits and vegetables, the MAG predicts that up to 70% of national production has been lost.
The FMLN proposed in the Legislative Assembly a price ceiling for basic grains. Last year, after high winds in November destroyed bean crop, the price of a pound of beans – a staple of the Salvadoran diet – went up more than 200% in some areas, from 65 cents to over $1.40. The Assembly plans to debate the measure in session on Thursday.
In an interview with the Spanish paper El País, Roberto Valent, United Nations Coordinator in El Salvador, estimated that the damages caused by the rains in El Salvador could exceed one billion dollars. “I want to make a comparison of the impact in El Salvador due to this event: With Ida, in November 2009, the total cost in damages was $320 million, equivalent to 1.45% of GDP. In the US, this would be equivalent to $207,000 million… We believe the costs today will be three times that of Ida.” This includes damage to roads, bridges, infrastructure, homes, and agriculture. Referring to the impending food crisis, Valent said: “we have already seen an increase of 10% [in price] of food.”
The Ministry of Health also remains on high alert for epidemics, especially respiratory illnesses, skin disease and gastrointestinal problems. People have been drinking unsuitable water, living in cramped conditions, and wading through contaminated flood water as latrines have overflowed in many affected communities.
Dagoberto Gutierrez, Salvadoran analyst and poet, recently reflected: “From pain, restoration must come. From hopelessness, the radiating light of hope must spring. From weakness, the political strength of organization must arise, and from social disaster, a people must arise in harmony with nature, without conflict over natural resources, wise enough to take advantage of their environment, to conserve it, to defend it, to restore it and repair it.”
