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News Briefs
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NB. The following information is from
September 2007.
Hurricane Felix leaves trail of
destruction
in the Northern Atlantic Coast region
of Nicaragua.
Photo shows destruction in the community of Kamla.
Credit: Marina Spiegel
1. News from Sept 5th
At 5:45am local time on Monday 4 September, category five Hurricane Felix
hit the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) causing widespread
devastation in the region's capital Bilwi (Puerto Cabezas) and at least 75
communities.
According to preliminary reports the 160 mph winds have caused massive
damage in Bilwi with the destruction of thousands of homes, the airport
control tower, and the local government building. Numerous neighbourhoods
have been flooded and at least four ships lost at sea. The Disaster
Prevention and Attention System (SINAPRED) estimated that 90% of the
infrastructure in Bilwi has been destroyed. The majority of Bilwi’s 63,000
inhabitants live in wooden houses and makeshift homes which are highly
vulnerable.
Over 500 soldiers had been sent to the region on 3 September to coordinate
the evacuation of the town and neighbouring villages and communities.
However, less than half the population was evacuated with many people
preferring to remain in their homes.
At 11:00am Felix moved east to Waspam and on into Honduras. Although reduced
to a category 3 hurricane, torrential rain was reported to be causing
dangerous flooding across the region and a high risk of landslides.
Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera said the situation in Waspam, made up of
remote indigenous communities, was "very complicated" because it had proved
impossible to evacuate the more than 3,000 people living in the area of
greatest risk.
According to preliminary SINAPRED figures 21 people have died. Large numbers
of people are reported missing therefore this total will rise. 38,000 people
have been affected through loss of housing, crops and other property.
The Miami Hurricane Centre has indicated that Felix could generate ‘from 8
to 12 inches (between 200 and 300 millimeters) of rain throughout northern
Nicaragua and El Salvador which could cause sudden floods and mudslides.’
According to UN representative in Nicaragua Alfredo Missair US$26 million is
needed to needed to cope with the immediate emergency.
SINAPRED [the Nicaraguan disaster and emergency coordinating organisation]
has decreed a state of emergency throughout the North Atlantic Autonomous
Region to facilitate the flow of international aid to the affected
populations.
3. News from Sept 18th
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Ortega: destruction left by Felix is "much worse than
was expected" President Daniel Ortega described
the destruction caused by Hurricane Felix as "immense"
and "worse than we could have imagined" during the
fourth official report about the emergency on Sept. 14.
Ortega said "the disaster has paralyzed practically all
social, economic and productive activity in the RAAN"
[the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region]. He went on to
say that "the ecosystem [of the region] has been
partially destroyed." Ortega admitted that the
authorities still do not have precise information about
the material damages, the environmental damages or the
loss of life caused by the hurricane and made a call to
international organizations to help the Nicaraguan
authorities to evaluate the damage.
Based on the official information available at the
time, Julio Cesar Aviles, Second in Command of the
Nicaraguan Army, gave details about the damage caused.
Over 33,000 square kilometers were affected by Felix,
which hit RAAN on Sept. 4 as a category five storm. Of
the region's 300,000 inhabitants at least 188,000 were
directly affected with 10,000 homes totally destroyed
and a further 9,000 partially destroyed. As far as the
death toll is concerned, there are only 132 people
confirmed dead and 106 people reported missing. This
figure, however, is likely to rise significantly during
the coming weeks. Crops were destroyed over most of the
affected area and little infrastructure escaped damage
or destruction.
On Sept. 14 the United Nations (UN) launched an
international emergency appeal for US$39.2 million to
cover the immediate basic needs of the Nicaraguan
victims and to contribute to the reconstruction of the
region. After being shown aerial photographs of the
destruction in the RAAN, UN representative in Nicaragua
Alfredo Missair, said "we are facing a situation of
maximum emergency, the likes of which have seldom been
seen anywhere on earth."
Reports about events in the RAAN describe generalized
distress, hunger, destitution and chaos. On Sept. 10 the
Mayor of Waspam Cornelio Tebas urged the government and
the international aid organizations to work faster to
get food, water and clothes to the inhabitants of the
communities affected in Waspam. According to Tebas it
has been impossible to get any aid to the communities
upstream from Waspam because the local authorities don't
have enough money for the gasoline they need for the
boats.
The plans are to begin the reconstruction of the
region as soon as logistically possible with the help of
international donations. For at least six months,
however, emergency food aid and imported clean water or
water purifying devices as well as emergency shelter
will be required. The Bosawas Reserve, which contains
10% of the world's biodiversity, was heavily damaged and
there is a fear that some species were wiped out without
ever being catalogued. |
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