/RPT/HONDURAS: Hurricane Mitch Triggers Declaration of Emergency

By Thelma Mejía Reprint | | Print |

Thelma Mejia

TEGUCIGALPA, Oct 29 1998 (IPS) - The Honduran government declared the Atlantic coast area a disaster zone due to the damages caused by Hurricane Mitch.

Hurricane Mitch – the worst storm to hit Honduras since Fifi claimed 10,000 lives and caused 200 million dollars in economic losses in 1974 – has killed at least 34 people. Some 70,000 people have been evacuated or are waiting to be rescued.

Especially hard-hit were Roatan, Utila and Guanaja, the islands of la Bahia. Boasting the world’s second largest coral reefs, the Caribbean islands are Honduras’ main tourist attraction.

“We were confident that the hurricane would distance itself from Honduras on Monday, as the forecasts indicated,” said Colonel Guillermo Pinel Calix, representative of the Permanent Emergency Committee. “But we were surprised to see that it decided to return to our Caribbean coast, and now remains stationary, lashing our island region, especially the island of Guanaja.”

According to preliminary estimates, 70 percent of all housing in Guanaja has been destroyed, while hotels on the island of Roatan have suffered major damages.

Communications with Guanaja have been completely cut off. Only an airplane of the U.S. National Hurricane Centre has been overflying the island in an effort to determine Mitch’s next moves.

In a message to the nation Wednesday, President Carlos Flores declared a state of emergency and disaster, and said the government would seek international assistance.

“Mitch’s erratic movements misled us, and despite prevention measures and the evacuation of people, we are facing a major tragedy. We are tackling the crisis with what we have,” said Flores.

Some 7,000 soldiers and 4,000 police have been deployed to the northern Caribbean coastline, to the areas of La Ceiba, Trujillo, Mosquitia and the islands of la Bahia and Cisne, as well as the communities of Tocoa, Saba and Santa Fe, to rescue an estimated 70,000 people whose homes have been destroyed.

The U.S. National Hurricane Centre had ranked Mitch in the highest category, number five. Although it later downgraded the storm to category three, the Miami-based institution stressed that it was still dangerous, with winds of 195 kms an hour. More than 500 mms of rain and waves several metres high are expected to swamp Honduras’ Caribbean coastal region.

Officials at the Ministry of the Economy said that due to the damages caused by Mitch, the government’s macroeconomic targets for 1998 – five percent economic growth and a 1.3 billion dollar rise in exports – would not be met.

The U.S.-based Tela Railroad Company, one of the top banana exporters in Honduras, announced that production would be hurt by the heavy rainfall lashing the Caribbean coast, where most banana plantations are located.

The firm suspended its exports due to the closure of the main Caribbean ports, and international flights were cancelled.

Colonel Pinel Calix of the Permanent Emergency Committee announced Wednesday that he had asked the U.S. armed forces to support evacuation efforts. “The situation is disturbing, but we are putting forth our best effort. However, not even with 350 planes could we evacuate everyone, because we just do not have the capacity.

“We are urging people to go to the shelters, and to store up on food and medicine until the help sent by the government can reach areas that have been cut off,” he added.

The officer stressed, however, that the alert had been sounded since Sunday, and that precautions had been taken.