Hurricane Felix crashes ashore in Central America
Pastor Dale Morgan
Hurricane Felix crashes ashore in Central America*
LA CEIBA, Honduras (AFP) - - Hurricane Felix smashed ashore in
northeastern Nicaragua Tuesday, after swelling into a potentially
catastrophic category five storm, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Felix was packing fierce winds of 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour,
the center said, and could spawn devastating flooding.
Central American authorities evacuated thousands of residents and
tourists from the Caribbean coasts as the massive hurricane rekindled
bitter memories of Hurricane Mitch, which killed 9,000 people and
displaced 2.5 million in the region -- mostly in Honduras -- in 1998.
"This system by far does not have the dimensions Hurricane Mitch had,
but it still has a lot of power and energy that could cause extremely
serious material damage and human loss," Honduran President Manuel
Zelaya said.
Felix had lost some strength after growing from category two to five in
a record 15 hours on Sunday. But it picked up steam throughout the early
hours of Tuesday before powering back to reach top intensity.
More than 12,000 people in threatened areas of Honduras and Nicaragua
were ordered to find shelter as the storm approached.
Several hundred tourists were also evacuated aboard boats and planes
from the Honduran islands of Roatan and Guanaja, popular with scuba divers.
Honduras and Nicaragua, among the poorest countries in the Americas, are
especially vulnerable to natural disasters as many homes are built with
weak material and are located in flood-prone areas.
Felix was expected to make landfall in the tropical forest inhabited by
indigenous Miskito people who live in fragile coastal homes.
Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital of one million people, issued a red
alert, meaning areas vulnerable to mudslides and floods would be evacuated.
In northern Honduras, people scrambled to gas stations and supermarkets
to stock up on supplies.
"We do not know how long supermarkets will be closed after the
hurricane," Teresa Nolasco, a 52-year-old teacher, said as she filled
the trunk of her car after standing in line for three hours at the
supermarket.
"We will be listening to the radio and pray, hoping we won't relive
another Mitch," she said.
In the northern coast town of La Ceiba, seafront restaurants and bars
remained open late despite the treat.
"We are taking advantage until the last moment, but we will work all
night to protect anything that can be damaged," said Mario Guevara, 36,
owner of La Palapa restaurant.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said he was cutting short a visit to
Panama to lead emergency efforts, while UN and other aid officials said
they stood ready to assist.
Carlos Scaramella, the World Food Program representative in San
Salvador, said the UN agency had enough food stocks to feed 100,000
people for the first five days of an emergency.
Mexico, which was already struck last month by Hurricane Dean last
month, was threatened by another strong storm on its Pacific coast as
Hurricane Henriette bore down on the Baja California peninsula, which is
dotted with tourist resorts.