Occurs 

Comments / Details 

Yes 

In recent years (2014-2019), the increasing trends of longer droughts in certain areas of the country, related to the weather phenomenon of El Nino and increasingly heavy rains from depressions or tropical storms elsewhere, have had a devastating effect and incurred high costs.  

Probability of Drought: 

• 0 to 1 drought per year in the Center and South of the country. 

• In the last 100 years with an average of severe drought per 15 to 20 years, less severe drought in a period of 2 to 3 years (Probable months between January, February and March) 

Yes 

Northern Central America (NCA) is the area with the highest risk of disasters in Central America, being one of the areas most affected by extreme geo-climatic events such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and droughts. Honduras, being in the Ring of Fire zone, is prone to earthquakes, however, these are not frequent or of great magnitude. 

Earthquake Probability 

• Very low in the Northeast area of the country 

• Low, Northwest-West and Center, of Tegucigalpa 

• Media in the South, Northwest, Choluteca, San Pedro Sula) 

• High area of the Northwest, an earthquake during the last hundred years 

Yes 

Floods or storms produce increases in epidemics, with a boom in cases of diarrhea, respiratory diseases (ARI) and all those associated with the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. For example, after Mitch, cases of diarrhea increased by 20%.  

No 

The historical average temperature of the country is located at 25.3 ºC, and an increase of half a degree is forecast in the coming years, although with variations between the different regions of the country. In this way, while in the regions of Choluteca and Valle the maximum temperature reaches 30 degrees, in the peak of Celaque the minimum recorded is 12 ° C.251 

Up to 600 meters high the average temperature is around 26 ° C, as in the lowlands of the Caribbean Sea. At altitude between 601 and 2,100 m the recorded temperature ranges between 16 and 24 °C, while above 2,101 m the average temperature is 16 ° C.  In the Pacific, the department of Choluteca is characterized by a dry climate with average annual temperatures of 28 ° C. 

Yes 

The Honduran territory is especially vulnerable to tropical cyclones and hurricanes, whose number has increased in the last decade, especially between the months of June and November. The country suffers a hurricane every 25 to 30 years, while storms are more frequent: one every three to five years (especially in the period between September and October). The tropical storms and cyclones that affect Honduras originate predominantly in the Atlantic Ocean, north and east of the country. According to IISD (2013), the cyclone season runs from June to November, although some cyclones of great intensity have been recorded in the month of May. 

Flood Probability: 

• High in the low areas of the North and South 

• High in areas with soils that have poor drainage in the Center. 

• In the last 100 years with an average flood of 3 to 5 years (Probable months between August, September and October) 

Yes 

Temperatures have risen 2°C in the last ten years," leading to shrinking harvests, increased deforestation, and increased pests and epidemics. During 2014, the Institute of Forest Sciences detected 7,528 weevil attacks, mostly in the departments of Olancho, Yoro and Francisco Morazán, for a total of 15,242 ha and 217,573 m³ of pine wood. 

Locusts are a threat to crops in the country and these tend to proliferate when temperatures rise. However, ARSA together with SENASA undertake early actions to control the pest. 

Yes 

For FAO (2012), deforestation causes erosion and soil degradation, which affect increased floods, landslides, sedimentation of rivers, loss of water sources and disappearance of rivers for several months a year. 

La Paz is the Honduran department most threatened by landslides, with 20.22% of its territory. In Intibucá, 20.13% of the department is threatened by landslides, followed by Lempira (19.98%) and Comayagua (18.87%). 

No 

In the Honduran territory no active volcanoes have been located (only 4 holocene volcanoes), which are El Tigre, Zacate Grande, Lake Yojoa, and Isla Útila in an inactive state; of which the date of its last eruption is unknown (Trombley, 2008). 

Yes 

Storm surges are more frequent on the Pacific coast than in the Caribbean Sea. It is a phenomenon associated with abnormal waves in the central Pacific, with almost annual frequency. 5.1% of the national territory presents a high threat to tides and swells, concentrated in five of the eighteen departments. The department most affected by tides and tides is the Bay Islands, where 43.66% of the area is at risk, followed by Valle (28.82%), Gracias a Dios (13.75%) and Choluteca (8.45%). 

Yes 

Forest fires are recurrent in Honduras and are a threat that increases in periods of drought, whose increase can lead, to which also contributes the decreasing forest density of the country, which would produce a vicious circle between drought and forest fires. Along with drought, high temperatures and strong winds are the main natural causes of forest fires in the country (ISDR, 2014). However, of forest fires are caused by human activities: in 2014, 72% of forest fires were by criminal hands, and 12% by agricultural burning. 

N/A

Countries like Honduras have less economic diversification and are more dependent on agriculture, and their lower income and savings, as well as poor education and health, make households vulnerable to the effects of climate change. 

No 

Yes 

The Gulf of Fonseca has historically been a source of conflict between El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. And despite its beauty and an illustrious past, it is also one of the poorest areas of Central America. The main problem is the lack of delimitation of the waters, although the first attempt in this direction was made in 1880 and it was in 1917 when the Central American Court of Justice expressed itself for the first time in the matter. 

And the matter also went to be considered by the same International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague after El Salvador and Honduras appealed to the court to settle a dispute over an island of half a square kilometer called Conejo. In its 1992 resolution, the ICJ determined that both states had exclusive sovereignty over a strip of three miles from their coast but assigned the administration of the rest of the waters of the gulf to the three countries that share it. 

And the lack of precise delimitation has continued to generate conflicts, with the military shooting at fishermen they accuse of fishing in foreign waters and presidents threatened with the use of air power to defend their sovereignty.

Yes 

Widespread violence is the leading cause of internal displacement in Honduras. The presence of groups linked to criminal activities, organized in maras or gangs, as well as the territorial dispute of gangs dedicated to drug trafficking, are the main engines of this violence. The country's two main cities: Tegucigalpa, the capital, and San Pedro Sula, an industrial city, have figured in recent years at the top of the list of the most violent cities in the world, with homicide rates ranging between 40 and 55, respectively, per 100,000 inhabitants.  

Since 2013, the Government of Honduras has recognized the problem of forced displacement due to violence in the country. To address its impact, it created the Inter-Institutional Commission for the Protection of Persons Displaced by Violence (CIPPDV), whose objective is to "promote the formulation of policies and the adoption of measures for the prevention of forced displacement due to violence, as well as care, protection and solutions for displaced persons and their families." 

The urgent humanitarian needs of displaced persons, refugees and migrants arriving, transiting or returning to the region exacerbate existing challenges and exacerbate gaps in governance and crisis response and in access to basic services for migrants.  

701,000 encounters in 2021 between the U.S. Border Patrol and migrants in transit originating from northern Central America.

795,000 people returned between 2017 and 2021 of which 39.68% come from Honduras.

740,000 asylum applications between 2019 and 2021 in the US and Mexico from people from northern Central America.  

Yes 

This was generated as a result of the cold war (80's): 

- Laying of A/P mines, in border areas: Honduras and Nicaragua. 

- Loss of life and persons crippled were recorded. 

- Crop areas affected by the effect of mines. 

- Negative effects on the regional economy. 

Honduras is in a complex humanitarian crisis, the root causes of which relate to systemic poverty, deep socioeconomic and gender inequality, persistent violence, the challenges posed by mixed migration flows, forced displacement within and from Honduras, and limited state capacity to respond to the protection challenges faced by the population.  This context is marked by the deepening COVID-19 pandemic and climate shocks, including hurricanes Eta and Iota. 

Time Frame 

Comments / Details 

From May to November 

High vulnerability of the network to natural phenomena (climatic, geological, others) does not guarantee continuity of travel in winter season (eg: transport of wood from the exploitation areas to the sawmills).  

During the rainy season, floods and landslides occur, which generate closures in the roads due in many cases to the poor infrastructure of these. 

From May to November 

Like the previous point, secondary roads are affected by floods and landslides, but to a greater degree. 

N/A 

N/A 

From May to November 

The temporary closure of airports is forced when bad weather limits the visibility required for the departure of planes, especially in the northern part of the country. This occurs regularly in the rainy season. 

From December to April 

The main means of communication between communities is fluvial, people move through rivers, lagoons and canals that connect with each other, specifically in the Municipalities of Gracias a Dios; Brus Laguna, Ahuas, Wampusirpi and Juan Francisco Bulnes.  

The duration of the trips can change in summer since it will depend on the seasonality of the river and can vary by the amount of water that the river has from four to seven hours when its waters are very low. 

Time Frame 

Comments / Details

From May to November 

Moisture and spread of pests in food. 

N/A 

N/A 

N/A 

N/A 

UNICEF 

Gerson Urtecho gurtecho@unicef.org 

IFRC 

Lilia Blades coord1.honduras@sheltercluster.org - coord.americas@sheltercluster.org 

IOM 

Lourdes Ardón lardon@iom.int 

OCHA 

Erlin Palma palmae@un.org 

UNICEF/Save the Children 

Alejandro López alejandro.lopezsalgado@savethechildren.org  

LDC 

Tania Ochoa tania.ochoa@wfp.org 

UNHCR 

Lina Castro castrovi@unhcr.org 

UNICEF 

Francisco Urbina furbina@unicef.org 

UNFPA 

Ambar Assaf  assaf@unfpa.org 

OPS-OMS 

Alex Padilla padillaale@paho.org 

UNFPA 

Silvia Padilla spadilla@unfpa.org 

WFP-FAO 

Hector Cruz hector.cruz@wfp.org  

UNICEF 

Cintia Paguada cpaguada@unicef.org 

UNDP 

Astrid Mejia astrid.mejia@undp.org 

PAHO-WHO 

TBD 

UNFPA 

Jose Zepeda jzepeda@unfpa.org 

WFP-FAO 

TBD 

UNICEF 

Gerson Urtecho gurtecho@unicef.org 

UNHCR 

Jacopo Sarti Widell sarti@unhcr.org 

UNFPA 

TBC    

UNICEF 

TBD 

OIM 

Carlos Galindo cgalindo@iom.int 

UNICEF 

Ever Alvarenga  ever.alvarenga@savethechildren.org 

IFRC / Global Communities 

coord1.honduras@sheltercluster.org - Lilia Blades coord.americas@sheltercluster.org 

OCHA 

Maria Puerto / Erlin Palma palmae@un.org