Nicaragua suffered severe damages and loss of life from meteorological phenomena in September and October. Hurricane Felix, a category five storm, hit the northeast of the country on September 4. Between 100 and 200 people died, many of them fishermen out at sea in small craft, and an estimated 200,000 people saw their homes and livelihoods trashed by the strong winds and rain. Livestock drowned, tens of thousands of hectares of crops were washed out, 20,000 homes were destroyed, and fishing gear was lost. The government set the figure for damages at $850 million.
Then came 55 days of steady rain. The areas affected most are in Nicaragua’s northwest. Loss of life was low, but damages to farms and roadways were heavy.
Reconstruction efforts have begun and the authorities of the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) and the Sandinista government have designed a plan for the areas affected by Felix that calls for the investment of almost $300 million over six months. Another $100 million is needed for zones in the northwest of the country.
Emergency international relief has been arriving, with the largest donors being the World Food Program, the USA, and Venezuela. It will take a lot of work to repair the damaged homes and, meanwhile, food has to be provided to tide the people over until crops can be replanted and harvested.
The government has had to make adjustments to the national budget in order to redirect scarce funds to cover the costs of, for example, road repair. A moratorium on paying back part of the country’s debt has been proposed in order to free up hundreds of millions of córdobas.