U.S., U.N. respond to Felix

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U.S. officials say they are prepared to help countries affected by Hurricane Felix with supplies, manpower and financial aid. The Category 5 hurricane has killed at least 21 people in Nicaragua and left more than 200 missing, according to local reports.

State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Tuesday that the U.S. had positioned disaster relief teams in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize to help host governments assess those countries’ needs in the wake of the storm. Supplies are ready in Florida warehouses for quick delivery and U.S. embassies are prepared to provide what financial assistance they can, he said. ‘We are very concerned about the situation,’ Casey said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations also sent in emergency teams to respond to the devastation. A six-person disaster assessment and coordination team went to Honduras on Tuesday to coordinate international assistance efforts, spokesman Michele Montas said.

The U.N.’s World Food Program has announced plans to send emergency teams to the region and says it has regional food stocks capable of feeding 600,000 people for a month. Other branches of the U.N. made advance preparations. Before the storm hit land, the U.N. Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, prepositioned food, water, first-aid kits, hygiene kits, water purification systems and educational materials for 100 schools, Montas said.

Posted by Nicole Gaouette in Washington