Meteorologists may insist that Hurricane Mitch is only a tropical storm, but it has already killed an estimated 18,000 people in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. As the waters recede the immediate priority is to shelter and feed three million displaced survivors. With the rivers and countryside full of corpses, clean water is scarce. Without a massive aid effort thousands more will die from famine and disease.
Full protection from natural disasters is impossible, but this summer's hurricane season in the Caribbean has shown that wind and water are not blind forces: they have a particular grudge against the poor. Hurricane Georges caused 440 deaths in Hispaniola, but only four in the US state of Louisiana.
The US has already promised $3.5 million in aid. The UK has donated £825,000 on top of a $7.7 million European Union distribution.