Crisis in Honduras

The rain which has bothered us since our arrival in Honduras last week became more than a nuisance. A tropical depression (number 16 apparently) dumped massive amounts of rain across Honduras and, as could be predicted in a heavily deforested country, has resulted in devastating landslides and widespread flooding, The damage has been compared to Hurricane Mitch, although with the death toll somewhere around 30 the mortality rate certainly doesn’t compare.

Here is some of the news-

Floods, landslides imperil thousands of families in Honduras

Flooding in Honduras Forces Mass Evacuation

Video of floods (You Tube)- in Spanish but the pictures say all.

We have been safe and (mostly) dry through all of this. It did give us some concern last week due to road damage, and will likely again as more rain is forecast this week and we need to travel to San Pedro Sula later in the week in order to do some interviews and then fly home.  However the hardest thing is knowing this is going on, it’s heartbreaking to hear daily of people loosing homes, and worrying to think about all the crops lost and infrastructural damage that will plague this country for months (if not years) after the international community forgets.

Collapsed hotel on the road Danli-Tegucigalpa road. We travelled past here last Thursday. On spotting the collapsed building we heard several people on the bus saying "Amen" and "Thank the Lord". We later found out it was a by-the-hour hotel. (photo from Reuters).