On the praise side, it is estimated that only around 100 people died in Honduras in both hurricanes combined. There are also about 40 people still missing. While we pray for the families dealing with loss at this time, considering Hurricane Mitch's death toll was somewhere over 10,000, this is a major blessing, and we thank God that the death toll was not higher!
The damage to property and infrastructure, however, was horrendous. This post covers the damage and some of the numbers from Hurricane Eta. Hurricane Eta flooded the north coast, wiping whole cities off the map. Hurricane Iota traveled more along southern Honduras. While southern Honduras was somewhat less affected, as it is more mountainous and less prone to flooding, there was some damage to that area in the form of landslides and damaged roads - and all the rain from Hurricane Iota traveled down the mountains and flooded the north coast, for the second time in as many weeks! The San Pedro airport, where most of our teams fly in, flooded both times. The second time the flood waters reached to 7 feet.
The damage to property and infrastructure, however, was horrendous. This post covers the damage and some of the numbers from Hurricane Eta. Hurricane Eta flooded the north coast, wiping whole cities off the map. Hurricane Iota traveled more along southern Honduras. While southern Honduras was somewhat less affected, as it is more mountainous and less prone to flooding, there was some damage to that area in the form of landslides and damaged roads - and all the rain from Hurricane Iota traveled down the mountains and flooded the north coast, for the second time in as many weeks! The San Pedro airport, where most of our teams fly in, flooded both times. The second time the flood waters reached to 7 feet.
 |
| The Ramon Villeda Morales airport in San Pedro |
Going back to counting our blessings, the area we work in was again only minimally affected. Russell does not think our coffee harvest has been noticeably damaged, and that only one significant bridge in our area took any damage. This bridge is on the road towards Santa Rosa, and the bridge itself is intact - the road approaching it was damaged, and has already been repaired enough that travel is possible. There have been reports of landslides and deaths in our area, but as far as we know none of them in villages we have worked in.
In other parts of the country, the loss of bridges and roads is causing major disruptions. Currently Permanent Commission for Contingencies (COPECO) is estimating that 185,000 people are isolated from the rest of the country due to damaged roads. COPECO also estimates that 88,700 people are currently in shelters, but that estimation grows higher everyday. The exact number of people who have been displaced is unknown, as many families have moved into the homes of relatives. Unfortunately, this opens up new concerns - people in overcrowded shelters are at much higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Besides the loss of housing, the ongoing food crisis in Honduras will only be made worse by these hurricanes, as many people have lost crops during the rains.
Please, continue to pray with us for the Honduran people! A year of lockdown, topped off with not one but two devastating hurricanes, has taken its toll on these people. We know that God can and will use this disaster to spread His Kingdom. Pray with us for the pastors and church leaders throughout the country who are ministering to their congregations, some of whom have lost everything and now face possible starvation and exposure to COVID-19, that they would help shine God's light during this dark time.
- posted by Kirstin S.
No comments:
Post a Comment