Guatemalan Red Cross: cash for families before the cyclone floods

The Guatemalan Red Cross runs a five-year Early Action Protocol for floods associated with tropical cyclones, updated and approved on 16 May 2024 with CHF 547,206 from the IFRC's anticipatory fund. It aims to assist 14,000 people in flood-prone departments including Alta Verapaz, Izabal, Quetzaltenango, Retalhuleu and Suchitepéquez, a coverage area set after Hurricane Eta in 2020. Actions are triggered when INSIVUMEH or the US National Hurricane Center forecasts at least a 60 percent chance of a tropical storm entering the cyclone warning zone, or when GloFAS forecasts a 10-year flood. Planned early actions include warnings, multipurpose cash grants and water, sanitation and hygiene kits.