In response to the destruction caused by Hurricane Felix as it swept over the Nicaragua-Honduras border on September 4, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has dispatched an emergency team equipped with rescue devices, blankets, food items, and first aid kits for nearly 250 Nicaraguan families devastated by the recent disaster.

ADRA’s team of 10 emergency rescue specialists based in Managua is flying to the heavily hit Atlantic coast to provide emergency aid, including first aid kits, blankets, and food baskets for 1,200 displaced survivors in the affected towns of Puerto Cabezas, Tasba Raya, and La Tronquera.

To date, 48 are known to have died in the wake of Hurricane Felix. That number is expected to rise as officials receive casualty reports from the remaining 70 percent of vulnerable coastal towns and villages, some of which are thought to have been obliterated by the hurricane. In Puerto Cabezas, Felix tore the roofs from buildings and damaged the town's hospital and airport, according to Nicaraguan Civil Defense officials.

Indigenous communities, including Miskitos, Mayagnas, Mestizos, and Creoles, who are believed to be among the most affected, are primary beneficiaries of ADRA’s immediate response. In coordination with the Civil Defense, Nicaraguan military, and other local humanitarian agencies, ADRA’s initial relief efforts will provide food baskets stocked with rice, beans, sugar, salt, oil, and cereal, as well as blankets and first aid kits that contain bandages, antiseptic spray, saline solution, oral rehydration solution, anti-diarrheal medication, and analgesic gel. Each family will receive one first aid kit, two blankets, and one food basket.

The seven-day initial response project is funded by ADRA International, the ADRA Inter-America regional office located in Miami, Florida, and ADRA Nicaragua.

ADRA Nicaragua is continuing to assess the situation as more information emerges as to the full scope of the disaster. It has developed expanded contingency and response plans that will meet the changing needs of survivors in the hurricane’s aftermath. Nearly 80 percent of Nicaraguans live below the international poverty line, many in ill-constructed homes with water and sanitation systems that were also severely affected by the hurricane.

Hurricane Felix made landfall on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua Tuesday, with 160 mph winds slamming into the towns of Puerto Cabezas, Waspam, and Rio Coco. Reports indicate more than 5,000 houses have been destroyed, at least 35,000 people have been affected, with 13,500 evacuated from coastal areas.

In Mexico, Hurricane Henriette made a second landfall as a category one storm on the Pacific Coast on Tuesday, but weakened to a tropical storm as it traveled up the coast of Mexico on Wednesday. At least seven people have been killed.

ADRA offices throughout Central America and the Caribbean are actively working to help survivors of Hurricane Dean, Felix, and Henriette recover from this season’s violent hurricane season.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, or ethnicity.