Central America

Pan-American Drought
Earthweek, August 31, 2001

A prolonged drought during Central America's usual rainy period has put 1.6 million residents in peril, according to a report by the United Nations World Food Program. The three-month drought has affected Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras, and is creating the most dire conditions in the region since the devastation left in the wake of hurricane Mitch in 1998. An estimated 80 percent of the region's grain crop has been lost to the parched conditions. Residents from Nicaragua to Guatemala have been forced to scavenge for mangoes and bananas due to the loss of their bean and corn crops.