In October 2005, a huge hurricane swept through Central America. People’s houses were destroyed by high winds and the banks of rivers burst as rain poured down across the area.

One of the countries the hurricane affected was El Salvador. José, 10, lives there with his mum, dad and sister.

When the hurricane came, José's family had to find cover from the storm. An organisation that Christian Aid works with helped José and others from his village by providing shelter. 'They gave us mattresses to sleep on… and rice, chicken, soup, eggs and all sorts of other things,' José says.

But things could have been much worse for José and the other people where he lives. The organisation that rescued them during the hurricane had helped José's mum Dominica and other people in the village put sandbags around the river to stop it from flooding their houses.

When Hurricane Stan struck in October 2005, this barrier stopped the river breaking its banks and flooding nearby homes. 

 

 

José’s learnt a lot about how to make his home safer. 'We need to be on higher ground so the water doesn’t reach us. Also, we can put sacks with sand in them along the river so that it won’t flood. If the border hadn’t been built even more water would have come in,' he says.