Recovery Plan Under Way After Hurricane Felix
September 7, 2007 - With thousands of homes destroyed from the wrath of Hurricane Felix, Catholic Relief Services is planning a two-phase recovery plan aimed at providing for immediate and long-term needs of devastated villages in remote sections of Nicaragua's northeast.
Residents walk past trees and utility poles felled by Hurricane Felix in the streets of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.
In addition to distributing pre-stocked emergency supplies and food, CRS has targeted 1,000 families to receive hygiene kits, plastic sheeting for temporary shelter, and basic food aid rations to meet their immediate needs for a two-week period. For longer-term recovery assistance CRS is preparing to assist 2,000 of the most vulnerable families to rebuild homes using techniques that make them more hurricane-resistant.
The death toll has reached 100 and is expected to rise as more information is gathered from the regions. Overall, more than 30,000 people were affected and about 13,500 were evacuated.
After touring affected areas between Waspam and Puerto Cabezas, Conor Walsh, director of CRS in Nicaragua described the destruction as massive. "Walking through the village, we saw toppled homes, trees, branches and debris littering the ground. Tin roofing had been ripped from houses and wrapped around tree trunks like cardboard," he said.
The impact of the Category 5 hurricane was felt Tuesday when it slammed into Nicaragua's northeastern coast. The hurricane was downgraded to a tropical depression within hours of reaching neighboring Honduras, which suffered less damage. Nevertheless, at least 20,000 Hondurans had to be evacuated to safety before the storm arrived
CRS Honduras staff and our local partners monitored the situation, as some communities in Valle de Sico, part of the department of Gracias a Dios, had already been affected by mudslides. Heavy rains on the north coast, in the department of Cortes, have caused the Ulua and Chamelecon rivers to overflow.
By far the most damage occurred in Nicaragua, where high winds ripped tin sheeting from roofs, felled trees and damaged crops. The weakly built houses located in remote, sparsely populated areas proved no match for the storm's high winds. Some electricity and phone lines were destroyed, as were roads and potable water supplies.
In the town of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, and in rural areas, about 8,000 homes were destroyed. In some of the smaller inland towns, such as Auas Tingni, almost all of the homes were destroyed. CRS plans to work in these smaller inland towns to insure an adequate recovery and that the communities' basic needs are met. "Many families who had fled are now returning to houses that were completely leveled. It will now be important to assist people with temporary shelter and basic necessities until recovery efforts for the long term can really start," says Alan Isaac, CRS' Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean.
A man walks past a road that has been partly washed away in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Photo by REUTERS/Edgard Garrido (HONDURAS)
The first phase of relief is under way, with local church partners distributing food, hygiene kits, and plastic sheeting for temporary shelter and home repairs. In the second phase, agricultural equipment, seeds, and home repair supplies, including roofing and basic building materials, will be provided.
Areas Vulnerable to Flooding and Landslides
Impoverished regions of Central America are especially prone to devastating damage from powerful seasonal hurricanes and tropical storms.
Nicaragua's Atlantic coast is among the poorest and least accessible parts of the country. Access is limited because there are few paved roads, and those that are in place are easily damaged by floodwaters and debris. The population lives in dispersed communities, often along rivers, which become impassable during the season. Large sections of the country are mountainous, a cause of great concern since continued heavy rains could trigger massive flooding and landslides, reminiscent of damage caused by hurricanes Mitch in 1998 and Stan in 2005.
The northern coast of Honduras is also extremely vulnerable to flooding and storms. Roads and infrastructure are poor and populations are hard to reach during emergencies.
Having worked in Nicaragua and Honduras for more than 40 years, Catholic Relief Services has built key relationships with local partners to help maximize the communities' preparedness and response to disasters. We routinely conduct disaster- and emergency-preparedness trainings in the communities we serve to help mitigate the loss of life and livelihoods.
