Honduras7

The Water Crisis in Honduras =// **Location** //= Honduras is located in **Central America**. Honduras is **bordering the Caribbean Sea**. In Central America, it is located in **between Nicaragua and Guatemala**. The coordinates for Honduras on the map are 15 00 North and 86 30 West. The location has allowed many natural disasters to occur. Sometimes mild earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods along the Caribbean Coast have occured in Honduras. =//Total Area//= The total area of Honduras is **112,090 square kilometers**.**111,890 square kilometers of this is land** which is only **~99.8%**. **200 square kilometers is covered by water**. This is **only ~0.2% water availability**. The area of Honduras compared to the world is 103 square kilometers. =//Climate and Terrain//= =//Arable Land//= Honduras has **10,080 square kilometers of arable land**.This is only **9.07%**. About **879 square kilometers** of Honduras is **irrigated land**. Honduras has a **renewable water source** that is about **96 cubic kilometers**. Though Honduras does have some water, the **freshwater withdrawl is 2.3 cubic kilometers per year.**
 * Generally **mild climate**
 * **Subtropical in lowlands**
 * **Temperate** in mountains

=//Population and Water//= The **total population** of Honduras is about **9,000,000 people**. The percent of these people that are **living in poverty is a total of 63%**. Honduras has their **largest water source** as the **Lago de Yojoa**. Honduras also must use small rivers to get water. In **extreme cases** of water shortage, the people of Honduras must **use small streams** as their source of water. The people of Honduras have **fairly good sanitation access** for their water. The **rural parts** of Honduras have **69% of the population** being **able to have access to sanitation facilities**. The **urban parts** of Honduras have **85% of their population with sanitation facilities available to them**. Of the **entire population** of Honduras, **77% of them have access to sanitation facilities for their water**. Though Honduras has some safe water, **diseases have been spread.** Often times, these **diseases have been spread by drinking water that has not been sanitized**. The diseases that have been spread throughout Honduras are **bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and even typhoid fever**. These diseases are **all waterborne** and come from contact with unsafe water.

=//Crisis in Honduras//= The **population of Honduras is expanding**, which **makes resources in Honduras even more limited**. Furthermore, some of the activities in Honduras have been causing much distress with the sanitized water supply. In Honduras, **mining activities** occur often and because of the new elements being released, **the water source, Lago de Yojoa**, has been polluted. Also, in Honduras most women and children spend at least six hours a day fetching and carrying water. The **water access points** in Honduras are **very poor overall** and **most water is too stagnate** and the people can not use it to clean, cook, or drink. Honduras has a coast, which has a large source of salt water. This source does not help in their current situation.

=//Water Scarcity//= The water crisis in Honduras is mostly a **physical water scarcity**. Honduras has 112,090 total square kilometers. Honduras is 99.8% land, which means that Honduras is only **0.2% water**. This is **not enough water for the entire population**. Also, though Honduras does have some freshwater, the **freshwater withdrawl per year is 2.3 cubic kilometers**. Honduras has a very mild climate. This means that it **gets very little rainwater**. This means that it is **very dry,** and the little precipitation that it does get, **does not get absorbed into the ground.** It does not spread throughout the country either. Furthermore, **natural disasters** have caused Honduras to lose water as well. Earthquakes have made the country lose water too. When the earthquakes strike Honduras, they can cause salt water to **flood** the coasts and contaminate the water supply. **Part of the water scarcity is economical.** Most earthquakes in Honduras have left at least $58 million dollars in damage. Honduras is a **very poor country,** and they do not have enough money to fix all the damages left by natural disasters like earthquakes. =//Recommendations//=
 * __//** More sanitation services **//__
 * __//** Train local people **//__
 * __//** Sanitize small amounts of water **//__
 * __//**Install rainwater catch systems**//__
 * __//**Transportation services**//__
 * __//**Hold fundraisers**//__

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