Oxfam’s Emergency Response for Hurricane Patricia

Oxfam is closely monitoring Hurricane Patricia’s progress and is ready to dispatch rapid assessment teams to survey the damage left in its path, and respond to the greatest needs.
 
The U.S. National Hurricane Center has said that Hurricane Patricia is “the strongest hurricane on record in the ...Atlantic and the eastern North Pacific basins" and is comparable with Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in 2013 and killed 6,300 people.
 
In the span of 24 hours, Patricia escalated from a tropical storm to a monstrous category 5 hurricane, the maximum on the Saffir-Simpson scale. In the next 48 hours, affected areas will likely get 40% of the rainfall they typically receive in a year, according to the local water commission. The UN’s World Meteorological Organization has also reported that Patricia's winds — which are around 200 mph (325 kph) — are strong enough "to get a plane in the air and keep it flying."

“First and foremost we want to make sure people have clean water and safe sanitation – those are our immediate priorities,” said Ricardo Fuentes-Nieva, Executive Director of Oxfam Mexico. “Oxfam teams will begin to assess the damage as soon as possible and help determine the best way to help people affected by this horrific storm.”