Hurricane Felix hit the northeast corner of Nicaragua, in the area near Puerto Cabezas (or Bilwi, as it is called by the indigenous locals) early Tuesday morning. (For those unfamiliar with the geography of Nicaragua, this is the opposite side of the country from Managua, where I live. We got a lot of rain in the last 2 days, but nothing else.)
The government's first official preliminary report is out this morning and the news is not good:
-18,477 people evacuated
-39 deaths
-105 missing
-18 injuries
-90 rescued
-7,795 houses destroyed
-8,848 homes partially damaged
--no potable water is currently available due to the contamination of almost all local wells
-access to the area is limited due to rushing rivers filled with tree branches and other debris
-there is a continued risk of mudslides and flooding in certain parts of north and central Nicaragua
At least 70,000 people were affected by this storm. (And there are still whole communities that have not been reached due to limited access via road and river.)
Medical teams, food and water have already been sent to the region, but there will be needs for weeks to come. I encourage all of you to monitor the FH website in the next couple of days for information on how you can contribute to the relief effort, should you feel so inclined.
In addition, information about the storm and its aftermath is being continuously updated locally here (in English): http://www.cepad.org.ni/
Gracias por tus oraciones y ayuda.
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7 comments:
Stay safe. I'll be thinking about all of you.
Lots of us have been thinking about you today. Thank you for posting so that we know what's up. Let us know if there is anything else we can do!
I was wondering how things were going over there...I am glad you are safe.
thinking about you.
are the homeless stats newly displaced peoples, or does this figure in the existing homeless? curious. not that it ultimately matters at all.
thanks for the thoughts, everyone.
psoup,
the number refers to number of people who lost homes in the storm. i have not idea what the previously homeless # might be.
thanks for the updates.
Thanks for your information and thoughts! It's hard for us nicaraguans living in other countries to know what is going on in our country..
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