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 El Salvador continues in a state of emergency as a result of the floods and landslides caused by Hurricane Ida. To date, 196 people have died and search efforts continue to locate some 80 people that remain missing. An estimated 75,000 persons (15,000 families) have been affected by the disaster. PAHO is supporting the coordination of health sector activities and has mobilized experts from its Regional Health Emergency Response Team to support the operations, including experts in the management of humanitarian aid.
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The village of Laborie, along the southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the Eastern Caribbean, recently pilot tested materials to help local communities prepare for a pandemic. The government of St. Lucia suggested the small community because of its strong community infrastructure that would be able to work with an international team.
The 2009 International Day for Disaster Reduction is observed each year on the second Wednesday in October. This year's celebration, on 14 October, is dedicated to the theme ‘Hospitals Safe from Disasters.'
This new manual is part of an effort to to improve the way information and communications are handled: how to obtain good quality information, how to make sure it is available quickly and how to communicate the content to individuals and organizations that need it. Currently available only in Spanish; English coming in December 2009.
Take a virtual tour of a hospital that is safe from disasters and can continue to function in emergencies, using this new, easy-to-use DVD that combines video and 3-D animation to explore the elements that could potentially put health facilities at risk. The virtual learning environment also includes a library of publications and several PowerPoint presentations. 
