GeoResources - Geography website

Reports of the damage and destruction left by Hurricane Mitch from each country affected

HONDURAS
The whole of the country was affected by Hurricane Mitch. Around 6,500 people died and up to 11,000 went missing. About 1.5 million people (20% of the country's population) were made homeless by the hurricane and there were serious shortages of food, medicine, and water. Hunger and near-starvation were widespread in many villages. Epidemics became a danger as diseases such as malaria and cholera made an appearance. As most roads and railways were seriously damaged, helicopters were needed to take supplies to areas cut off by floods, but these were in short supply. Many of the unidentified dead were buried in mass graves or their bodies were cremated.

In some areas, whole villages were washed away and an estimated 70-80% of roads/railways were destroyed. The majority of the country's bridges were damaged or destroyed. Even airports were under water. Fuel, electricity and running water became scarce commodities. Damage was so severe that it was calculated that it could take 15-20 years or more to rebuild the country. One third of all buildings in the capital were damaged by the floods. Survivors were still clinging to roof tops a week or more after the storm. Heavy damage was caused along the coastline and off-shore islands by the storm surge and hurricane-force winds. Tourist resorts along the coast were seriously damaged. The estimated damage to roads and buildings in Honduras was $4 billion.

At least 70% of the crops on farms were destroyed, including almost all of the banana crop. Crop losses were estimated at $900 million. Further damage was caused by the flooding of the large warehouses and storage rooms used for coffee beans. The damage by Hurricane Mitch to Honduran farming will take many years to put right.

NICARAGUA:
Northwest and northern parts of the country were most affected. An estimated 3800 people died with perhaps as many as 7,000 others missing. Between 500,000 - 800,000 people were made homeless. Intense rain over western Nicaragua on October 29th-30th caused over 600mm of rain to fall (about one years rainfall in south-east England!). The crater lake on top of the dormant Casita volcano filled up and part of the walls then collapsed on October 30th, causing mud flows that eventually covered an area ten miles long and five miles wide. At least four villages were totally buried in the mud that was over a metre deep. Over 2,000 of the dead were from the areas around the collapsed volcano. In many cases, survivors had to wait days before the mud had dried enough to walk to rescuers. Damage was serious from flooding in other parts of the country, also. On November 5th, 500 bodies were found in the Coco River near the town of Wiwili. An additional 500 unidentified bodies had washed up on the Pacific shore after flood waters had washed their bodies out to sea. As with Honduras, there were serious food and water shortages in flooded areas. The roads/railways and all forms of communication in the affected regions were devastated. Over 30% of the coffee crop was destroyed and there was serious damage to the bean, sugar, and banana crops. Damage estimates for Nicaragua were $1 billion.

EL SALVADOR
The western part of the country was most affected by the heavy rain. 230 people died and 500,000 were forced from their homes by the flooding. As much as 80% of the maize crop was lost. Coffee plantations and the sugar cane crop was severely affected.

GUATEMALA
Over 200 people were killed by the floods. Ten U.S. citizens and one other person was killed in a plane crash supplying emergency aid on November 1st. Nearly 80,000 people were evacuated from their homes because of the flooding. There was widespread damage to the coffee and banana plantations.


The UK's Number One Geography Portal!!	Hurricane Mitch:The story.....