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Drought
The Salvadoran Red Cross Society activates its early action protocol for drought
The Salvadoran Red Cross Society has activated its early action protocol for drought and is now acting to mitigate the expected impacts of this El Niño-driven hazard.
The Salvadoran Red Cross Society activates its early action protocol for drought
As El Niño drives record temperatures across Central America, the Salvadoran Red Cross Society has activated its early action protocol (EAP) for drought. It is now undertaking actions to mitigate the expected impacts of water scarcity, particularly in the Eastern Dry Corridor; this region is highly vulnerable to food insecurity and the loss of livelihoods, and already has limited access to safe water.
The actions are being supported by 544,464 Swiss francs (around 692,000 US dollars/595,000 euros) from the IFRC's Disaster Response Emergency Fund. They include:
- multipurpose cash assistance to protect agricultural livelihoods and people’s basic needs
- the distribution of safe water and hygiene purification kits
- public awareness campaigns on hygiene measures during a drought.
These pre-planned and pre-financed actions will be carried out during the three-month window before the drought's impacts peak, and are expected to reach more than 10,000 people. They aim to reduce the humanitarian impacts of the drought for the most vulnerable communities. For example, the cash transfers will allow farming and livestock families to buy drought-resistant seeds and agricultural inputs for rapid planting before the drought peaks. Highly vulnerable households can use their cash transfers to buy food and essential household products.
As part of its auxiliary role to public authorities on humanitarian matters, the Salvadorean Red Cross Society is delivering these actions in close coordination with the Directorate of Civil Protection, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, other humanitarian actors and local communities.
Turning forecasts into action
The EAP was activated on 14 May 2026 after forecasts reached the trigger thresholds; these are directly linked to El Salvador's national thresholds for drought.
- El Niño conditions: Official forecasts from IRI-CPC (as of January) and the DGOA indicated a probability of 60 per cent or higher of El Niño conditions in the Niño 3.4 region for the following quarter.
- Rainfall deficit: The DGOA's seasonal outlook forecast that cumulative rainfall for the May–July period would fall below the 33rd percentile (below normal), significantly increasing the risk of severe water stress in prioritized areas.
The first activation for the Salvadorean Red Cross Society
This activation is the first for the Salvadoran Red Cross Society, marking another milestone in the country’s evolving ecosystem for anticipatory action. Other progress includes the institutionalization of anticipatory action, for example through its integration into national disaster-risk-management systems and coordination mechanisms. In 2025, for example, the government of El Salvador established a Special Commission for Development, Anticipatory Action, and Early Warning Systems and held the country’s first National Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Action. Humanitarian partners are supporting these efforts through initiatives such as the German Red Cross’s regional project on ‘Anticipatory Humanitarian Action in Latin America and the Caribbean’, which is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.
Article by Vivian María Pavón Flores, Carlos Alberto Aldana Umanzor and Sören Schneider.
Photo: Past drought relief operations by the Salvadoran Red Cross Society. © Salvadorean Red Cross Society
The development and activation of this EAP was made possible through technical support from the German Red Cross, the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre and the IFRC, with funding from the German Federal Foreign Office.
