Supporting Oaxaca’s Coast After Hurricane Erick
June 27, 2025
In June 2025, Hurricane Erick made landfall on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a Category 3 storm, bringing destructive winds, heavy rains, and widespread flooding to rural communities in Oaxaca and Guerrero. The hardest-hit areas, including Pinotepa Nacional and communities between there and Puerto Escondido, reported significant damage to homes, infrastructure, and road access. Families were left in dangerous situations without access to food, water, electricity and safe shelter.
OUR RESPONSE TO HURRICANE ERICK
July 14, 2025
After weeks without reliable access to clean water or even a safe place to call home following Hurricane Erick, families received much-needed relief to meet their most basic needs. As part of our ongoing response, our teams have distributed more than 100 tarps across three rural communities where government assistance hadn’t reached, helping to cover damaged homes and protect families from further exposure. We also delivered over 16,500 liters of water to the communities of El Tamal, Lo de Riaño, Rancho de la Virgen, El Palomar, Arroyo Seco, El Alacrán and Pie de Cerro.
As distribution efforts begin to wind down with the gradual return of basic services, we are focusing on a longer-term solution: installing new solar panels at La Noria’s water purification center, helping restore power and ensure sustainable access to safe drinking water for the largest community we’ve served in this response.
June 30, 2025
Our DART team conducted needs assessments for 200 families in the storm-affected communities of El Ranchito and La Noria in Pinotepa Nacional, with a focus on those in urgent need of shelter. Many homes lost roofs and doors, forcing families to seek refuge with neighbors. We completed the assessment on June 27 and are coordinating with partners to plan joint deliveries, as road access remains limited. In the meantime, we’re continuing to distribute water and food for families in need.
June 26, 2025
We spoke with Claudina, the secretary of the community’s police station, who shared some of the challenges the community is facing in the immediate aftermath of the storm. She expressed her appreciation for direct action on the ground, saying, “I feel very good seeing [AHAH] all take the time. When I see you, I get emotional, because I tell myself that help has arrived.”
June 24, 2025
Afro-Mexican communities along the Oaxaca coast were disproportionately impacted. Isidro Ramírez López, leader of the Organization for the Social and Productive Development of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Descendant Communities (SOCPINDA), called Hurricane Erick the most devastating storm these communities have faced, adding that “nine out of ten families were affected by Hurricane Erick’s strong winds. The truth is, no one escaped the effects.”
AHAH is focusing its response in Oaxaca, where our Disaster Assistance and Response Team (DART) is actively coordinating with local authorities, conducting on-the-ground assessments, and distributing emergency kits with water and non-perishable food.
It’s a terrible situation here in the town. My family, each one has their own testimony saying that on every corner people were taking refuge—everyone or most of the people from my town. I have even asked influencers all the way there. Out of desperation for my town, I told them to support me, that just as they spread information, we want them to spread information about my town here, because it’s not just one person affected; there are more than 200 inhabitants.
While every disaster is different, our guiding principle remains the same: we listen to community needs, collaborate with local partners and commit to long-term recovery. This measured approach ensures that the right help reaches the right people at the right time.
Your support makes this work possible. Please consider donating to help us continue providing critical relief to disaster-impacted communities. Together, we can make a difference.
Consider joining our community of Builders: our dedicated monthly donors who provide steady, reliable support, allowing us to arrive at a moment’s notice when disaster strikes and help communities recover and rebuild through the long term.
Thank you for standing with communities in their greatest time of need.
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