Sunday, May 30, 2010

Waterlogged!




We've had more hours of rain than not for the past three days. Yesterday (Saturday) we had enough sunny hours to power up the batteries, but just barely. It has rained all night for all three nights.

We're experiencing Tropical Depression Agatha, as you can see in the photo above, from the weather site WeatherUnderground. This is a storm which began in the Pacific, and there is some concern that it will cross over into the Atlantic and regain strength to a tropical storm or hurricane, at which time it will receive a different name (Anna, I think).

I don't believe our family is in any danger from the storm, but there is great likelihood that there will be roads and bridges washed out in our area, with this much rain. Plus, the rivers up here in the mountains join together into large shallow rivers near the north coast, and there will likely be significant flooding there, as this much water roils toward the sea!

The risk of houses (and people) being washed away in mudslides is very high. The poorer homes tend to be built on the steepest slopes, and those same slopes are generally completely devoid of plant life - setting the stage for the massive mudslides which caused much of the loss of life in Hurricane Mitch.

I understand from the newspaper (and the satellite maps) that the situation is much worse in Guatemala than here in Honduras. Please pray!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the reminder about Agatha, Gautemala, and such. I was just considering posting something similar. I am on the outskirts of the rain, but still the rain is unusually strong here in Tegu and I am seeing small landslides. Poor housing is difficult when is rains without ceasing.

Anonymous said...

Do you have any information about the city/town of El Progresso? I am a concerned Mom in Texas wondering about the group that my son is traveling with...
Any information would be appreciated - thanks!

Trish said...

Dear Anonymous Mom -

I'm not anywhere near El Progresso, but I asked for a report on that city on the Honduras Living Yahoo group, and got this in reply:

Hi Trish,

I'm in Progreso, living about a 20 minute walk from the main boulevard in the city. I haven't seen or heard about any mud or rock slides here in the city. It's just that the roads are muddy and sloppy. The tap water has more sediment than usual and there's much less water pressure.


~ Joy, El Progreso


I hope this helps relieve your mind, somewhat.

Anonymous said...

Is the situation the same around San Francisco de la Paz? Thanks -
Mary