2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends – TS Sara may be parting shot
By the Climate Centre
The IFRC last week issued a humanitarian cash grant of nearly half a million Swiss francs to the Honduran Red Cross to enable it to assist 6,000 people affected by Tropical Storm Sara – the third named storm to form during November, which was described then in news reports “as a reminder that the Atlantic hurricane season hasn’t quite ended”.
The Atlantic season – which this year has been described by US scientists as above average – officially runs from 1 June to the end of November, peaking in September.
The Honduran authorities (COPECO) said late last month that Sara had affected over 200,000 people, leaving more than 50,000 with identified needs, IFRC-DREF said.
Six people in Honduras died in the storm, which caused extensive damage to critical infrastructure, destroying 11 bridges and cutting off nearly 2,500 communities, it reported.
“Agricultural and fishing communities have experienced severe losses to their livelihoods, with destroyed crops, lost tools, and disrupted markets, exacerbating food insecurity.
“Sara added to a series of recent extreme events, including … Tropical Storm Rafael in Cuba in early November, Hurricane Oscar in late October, and two recent earthquakes in the region, which increased the vulnerability of affected communities.”
‘Scientific and technical information becomes a fundamental tool to strengthen preparedness and mitigate the impact of climatic events’
For the second time in its history, the Honduran Red Cross activated its early action protocol for floods caused by storms, scheduling rapid interventions centred on drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and livelihoods for 2,500 families in, especially, Tocoa municipality in the northern Colon department.
The EAP was activated on 14 November – the day “Tropical Cyclone 19” was officially named Sara and made landfall on the border between Honduras and Nicaragua (the first occasion the EAP used was in October 2022 ahead of Tropical Storm Julia).
The Sara weather system had been forecast the day before by the US National Hurricane Center “to strengthen and produce life-threatening flooding over portions of Central America,” including Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala and western Nicaragua.
Jose Juan Castro, the president of the Honduran Red Cross, stressed the importance of pre-positioned supplies and equipment: “Our experience in this second activation [of the EAP] will allow us to reach communities before the impacts of the floods fully materialize.”
In recent years, Honduras has witnessed several major disasters associated with tropical cyclones, such as Hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020 and, most catastrophically, Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
In the context of an active hurricane season, “the use of scientific and technical information becomes a fundamental tool to strengthen preparedness and mitigate the impact of these climatic events,” IFRC-DREF said.
“Acting before a hazard to safeguard lives and livelihoods is not only an innovative approach to humanitarian assistance, but also complements efforts [for] the resilience of communities at risk.”
Honduran Red Cross beneficiaries queue in Tocoa city late last month for relief supplies after the passage of TS Sara – the third named storm in November. (Photo: HRC via social media)