Honduras declares yellow and green alerts for heavy rains

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Permanent Commission of Contingencies (Copeco) decreed Tuesday a “yellow” alert (surveillance) in northern Honduras and a green (prevention) for six departments for 48 hours by rains. However, rainfall affects almost the entire country.

Since 2:00 PM local time (20:00 GMT), the yellow alert is in force in the Sula Valley, which is crossed by mighty rivers such as the Ulua and Chamelecon, the civil protection agency said in a statement.

The departments in green alert are Santa Bárbara, Copán, Ocotepeque, Lempira, and Intibucá (west) and La Paz (center), due to possible landslides, added Copeco, which pointed out that this measure is maintained in Valle (south) due to floods caused by the Goascorán river.

The measure was adopted because the Centro Nacional de Estudios Atmosféricos Oceanográficos y Sísmicos (Cenaos) forecasts indicate that rains of “varied intensity will continue for the next 24 hours, especially in the western region”.

According to the specialists, the continuous precipitations that fell in the Central American country in the last 36 hours have caused an increase in the level of the rivers and the humidity in the soil in the west, Sula valley, and south of Honduras.

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The Cenaos, which depends on the Contingencies Commission, indicated that the precipitations had caused floods in the Ulúa, Goascorán rivers and their tributaries, which could generate “the overflow of the same in the lower parts of the basins”.

According to the Flash Flood System of Central America, there is a risk of landslides especially in the high and vulnerable parts of the departments of Santa Bárbara, Copán, Ocotepeque, Lempira, Intibucá, and La Paz.

The yellow alert in Honduras entails preventive evacuations in regions at risk of landslides, landslides, floods, or overflowing rivers. In contrast, the green alert means that the behavior of a phenomenon that could result in a disaster should be monitored.

The social protection agency recommended residents in high-risk areas avoid crossing rivers or streams and heed the authorities’ call in case of ordering preventive evacuations.