12:35 a.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
Photos of San Pedro Sula.
1:35 a.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
There is no passage between La Lima and El Progreso. Volunteers are needed desperately in these areas.
There is a serious danger of flooding in Choloma. Evacuation orders have been given for various neighborhoods.
Photos of Shelters in San Pedro Sula.
2:24 a.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
It is raining in San Pedro Sula; The Rio Piedras suddenly showed less water, which can mean that it has been "stopped" somewhere upriver, increasing the possibilities of an avalanche towards the Bella Vista bridge.
3:06 a.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
***NOTICE***
ANYONE, in any country...the Fire Departments of Honduras are in desperate need of hydroplanes, small motor boats, swamp boats, hydrocrafts...ANYTHING that can transport people through water. It is needed IMMEDIATELY.
Also needed are GPM 300 Motorola Radios and PERSONAL FLOATATION DEVICES!!
Arrangements can be made for equipment to be flown into Tegucigalpa, and put into the water from there to various rescue locations.
Please e-mail bomberos@honduras.com NOW!
12:11 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
There is a period of calm in San Pedro Sula at the moment, and volunteers are using the time to help to clean the city. There is a forecast for rain in the next 2 hours, which is expected to continue for 4 hours more.
The power is out in a 50% of the city...the phones are 80% operative. The Termoelectrica Central is out of service. Many Hotels are now refugee shelters.
Early in the morning the rescue ships of La Ceiba headed to the Bay Islands to bring food and supplies.
A list of things needed:
- Outboard motorboats
- Personal Floatation Devices
- Camping Tents
- Ropes
- Pickup trucks and 4x4s
- Flashlights
- Canned goods and food not needing refrigeration
Photos
2:11 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
HONDURAS.COM is coordinating with the US Embassy to Honduras to have supplies shipped to Honduras immediately.
Tegucigalpa has been declared a disaster area.
The following paragraphs are excerpts from the World Gospel Mission
*******BEGIN EXCERPT******
Oct. 30, 1998 1:30 PM
Update from the farm school in Honduras All schools have closed, all work has stopped. The river is raging!!! Big trees are falling into it. The Bocaron bridge is gone which means we have no road to Tegucigalpa. This is a very serious situation. There is no diesel, and there will be no trucks bringing anything to Catacamas for a while. We are concerned about the work team. They seem to be holding up well. Today they are playing games in the rec room with the boys. Pray !!!
Oct. 30, 1998 10:30 AM
Hurricane Mitch is now a tropical storm! That sounds better, but Mitch is still dropping a lot of rain onto Honduras. The rain is causing flooding and damaging roads in the whole country of Honduras. Brad and
Mary Kay Phillips, who live in San Pedro Sula, have been forced out of their home due to flooding. They have about 2 to 3 feet of water in their home. Plans today are to get Laurie Potter with supplies over to the island of Roatan from Tegucigalpa. Once over on the island, she needs to make her way to Punta Gorda to open the clinic. Travel could be difficult by land because of the roads being washed out. Please pray for her travel and that she will be able to open up the clinic to meet the needs of the Hondurans.
Oct. 29, 1998 12:30 PM
The Disaster Relief Committee met and decided to focus on helping two areas. The areas are Punta Gorda (located on the island of Roatan) and Tocoa (15-20 miles south of the North border). Tocoa at this time has no food or water and is under water. They need relief help immediately. We also need to get Laurie Potter back onto the island of Roatan as soon as possible. She needs to open up the WGM clinic to meet the medical needs of the Punta Gorda people. After this disaster, the things that people will need most is food and medical help.
The Disaster Relief Committee consists of David Castro (President of the National Church), Saul Gomez, and WGM Missionaries, David Hawk and Brad Phillips. David Hawk is leading the committee. Please pray for these men as they plan on ways to help the people in the Punta Gorda and Tocoa area. The rains in Honduras have washed out bridges everywhere. The only way to get to places is by plane. This will put a heavy demand on the planes that are in Honduras.
*******END EXCERPT******
4:00 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
Arrangements are being made with TACA airlines to fly goods to Honduras. Information on how to package items will be in next update.
People wanting information on other areas of the Caribbean can visit the Caribbean Hurricane Page at http://www.gobeach.com/hurr.htm
The following information on ROATAN came in from Loretta Miles:
I've been in contact with my husband, Alex Martinez, and with Phil Stevens
at the Sunset Inn/Ocean Divers Resort in West End, Roatan
and have more recent and detailed information on the current conditions in Roatan. Of course, it continues to rain, blow, and the seas are still very angry but now the concern is for the lack of
supplies. Potable water is running low and with no power, it will be
difficult to purify. Food is in extreme shortage but in that beautiful
island style, communities are banding together in an attempt to share what
little remains. There have been reports of some looting and the unconfirmed deaths of two children. French Harbor sustained major damage on the point, Oakridge and Oakridge Key were seriously hit, most of Jonesville is ok, Coxen Hole is ok, West End suffered some moderate damage (sea walls, docks, part of Foster's, Sueno del Mar, Sea Grape, and Stanley's were all hit - maybe more, but this is all I know of for sure). Most of the sailing yachts hid in Port Royal and are ok - I have heard of none damaged, but of course, news is still trickling in. The worst damage still seems to be to Punta Gorda (over 100 homes completely gone, but miraculously no loss of life).
The following information on ROATAN came in from Jan and Gail Lake:
I just got a call from my aunt who lives in French Harbour along with my
Mother in love Betty Timmons. They are misssionary down there and they
reported to us today that they are all o.k. and the houses in which they
live is still standing. The school is o.k. lots of people took sheltered
there. They have water and food. And hope to have everything under
control soon. The west side was destroyed along with the north side.
They are on the south side. They have exprienced a lot of high winds and
and a little flooding but everyone seems to be intact. Thank God for
that. Still exprienceing high winds today. We were very happy to hear
that they are o.k. We are still praying for the rest of the people
involed with the hurrican. More when we hear from them again.May God's
protection be over everyone today.
The following information on San Pedro Sula came in from Lourdes F. Guzzone:
I just spoke with my Father, Prof. Ramon Flores Mejis - who leaves en La
colonia Trejo, San Pedro Sula. He said, that the situation is terrible.
Honduras has suffered the worst destruction in every way in our
history. San pedro has become a shelter city - Los Sanpedranos are
doing every humanly possible to help the needed people. Instituto San
Vicente de Paul is a shelter - It will continue to rain until Monday.
An Emergency meeting will take place at the World Bank, with the
Disaster Preparedness Group, for a group of people who will be
traveling to Honduras on Monday.
4:00 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
Okay folks, now is the time to start packaging it up!
To help distribute your items in the quickest manner possible, use the following COLOR CODING for your boxes of goods as designated by the US Embassy:
- RED - Food items (non perishable, should keep up to 6 months)
- GREEN - Medical items. Include a LIST of what is in the box. List the generic name, the expiration date, and the temperature range the medication must be kept at.
- BLUE - Clothing and household items.
- YELLOW - Electrical supplies, generators, radios, etc.
Shipping addresses will follow.
4:50 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
Update on Olanchito from Steve Topper, Topper International:
At 4:00 pm EST US time, Oct 30, Mr. Hernandez in Miami
received this report from his wife in Olanchito, Honduras:
Electricity is still off throughout the town.
Telephone service is partially restored.
The whole town has mud everywhere.
Part of the town is still underwater, but walkable.
Sturdy concrete houses are still standing, but mud houses
are
damaged, especially the bottoms. Most houses have mud in
them.
No contact is possible with other local towns, e.g. Yoro,
because
telephone connections and bridges are gone.
No reports of any local deaths or injuries known to his
wife; most
people went to shelters or the sturdy houses.
Olanchito needs: water and food.
Report from his brother in Tegucigalpa:
All bridges to the town have water at least to the
bottom of their spans. The bridge of Fuente Mayol
is almost overflowed completely.
5:40 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
The newest requests are for TARPS, TENTS, and especially GENERATORS. Get on the phone and ask your local stores to donate to the cause. We need everyone's help..that means YOU! :)
Please send ASAP!!!! Anything you can donate (see posting below for color-coding system) would be most appreciated by the people cold and hungry right now.
Boats are leaving this evening and throughout the day tomorrow for HONDURAS from two locations (below). Ingrid Smith, of Continental Airlines has begun coordinating efforts to help the country as well.
SEND TO: (Please over-night, or same-day express it!)
ATTN: Honduras Relief
c/o Carribean - American Club
6211 Martindale
Tampa, FL 33611
OR TO:
Mission Guanaja
Bayman Bay Club
11750 NW 19th Street
Plantation, FL 33323
HONDURAS.COM cannot begin to express our thanks to these two organizations who have responded immediately to the needs of the Honduran people.
Everyone is making things happen! :-) Don't be left out...get involved!
Latest word from Tampa is that Mitch has picked up speed again. Hope for the best.
5:40 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
REPORT FROM THE NHC:
"A RECENT REPORT OF 49 KNOTS FROM ROATAN REQUIRES THAT THE
WIND SPEED BE INCREASED BACK UP TO 50 KNOTS. THIS DOES NOT MEAN
THAT A STRENGTENING TREND IS OCCURRING...BUT IT MEANS THAT OUR
PREVIOUS ESTIMATES WERE TOO LOW?? AN EVEN HIGHER OBSERVATION OF
70 KNOTS FROM PUERTO BARRIOS IS BELIEVED TO BE A RESULT OF A
FUNNELING EFFECT FROM NEARBY MOUNTAINS. EXCEPT FOR THIS ADJUSTMENT
OF WIND SPEED...MITCH IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE WEAKENING AS MOST OF
THE CIRCULATION IS FORECAST TO REMAIN OVER LAND.
HEAVY RAINFALL OVER HONDURAS...NICARAGUA...GUATEMALA...BELIZE...AND
PORTIONS OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA CONTINUES TO BE THE PRIMARY
THREAT FROM MITCH."
Our San Pedro Sula correspondents are working very hard to help the city, and will have another update for us in a short while. Stay tuned....
9:00 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
Update on Tela via e-mail from Drew Stoll:
I received a message about the situation in Jeannette Kawas National
Park in Tela, Honduras. It was reported to me that the fishing village
of Miami, which is located on a 150 meter wide strip of land was
completely washed away. There were approximately 40 thatch roofed houses
in the town. In the near-by town of Tornabe, several houses and the Last
Resort Hotel were reportedly destroyed by wave actions and water rushing
out to sea. Most residents of Tornabe were evacuated to Tela.
9:05 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
Newest reports indicate that the water levels have reached the second floor at the new San Pedro Sula airport and there is serious damage to the radar system equipment.
9:27 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
Report by Honduras.com Correspondent O Ma R Orbison:
The following are the latest official statistics provided by the Regional Emergency Command II, which includes ONLY
the northern area of Honduras and are valid through October 29th:
Damaged Bridges:
River: Type of Damage Location:
Manacal Destroyed Potrerillos
El Zapote Destroyed Potrerillos
Bermejo Unusable San Pedro Sula
Piedras Unusable San Pedro Sula
Choloma Loose Pilings Choloma
Tulian Destroyed Omoa
Chachaguala Destroyed Omoa
Omoa Destroyed Omoa
La Venado Semi- Destroyed Omoa
Chuoas Destroyed Omoa
Ulua Loose Pilings El Progreso
Comayagua Loose Pilings Santa Rita
Helado Destroyed Santa Rita
Chamelecon Loose Pilings Chamelecon
Ulua Loose Pilings Santa Barbara
Ulua Destroyed Santa Barbara
Sub-Total: 16 Bridges Damaged
Other Departments:
Tocoa 2
Saba 1
Olancho 4
Sub-Total: 7 Bridges Damaged
Total Bridges Damaged 24
The above figures do not include the areas of Tegucigalpa and Choluteca which also were hit hard by MITCH.
____
Rains in Tegucigalpa have intensified, and landslide dangers are impending. A bridge between Juticalpa and Catacamas has fallen and there is no passage. Honduras is still experiencing disasters due to heavy rains and flooding.
9:30 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
Report by Honduras.com Correspondent O Ma R Orbison:
The following are the latest official statistics provided by the Regional Emergency Command II, which includes the northern area of Honduras and are valid through October 29th:
Evacuated:
Location, Amount:
Pimienta, 1857
Potrerillos, 2490
Santa Cruz de Yojoa, 1180
Villanueva, 5473
San Manuel, 540
San Pedro Sula, 37,883
La Lima, 19,536
Choloma, 5080
Puerto Cortes, 15,000
Omoa, 3953
El Progreso, 8000
El Negrito, 2040
Santiago, 202
Santa Rita de Yoro, 1200
Olanchito, 2000
Yoro, 1200
Santa Barbara, 12,700
Sub-Total: 120,334
Evacuated Other Departments:
Atlantida, 6400
Colon, 20,283
Islas de la Bahia, 800
Sub-Total: 27,483
Total Evacuated: 147,817
The above figures represent only those evacuated by the local government authorities. Other people have been evacuated by private institutions and individuals.
9:40 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
Report by Honduras.com Correspondent O Ma R Orbison:
The following are the latest official statistics provided by the Regional Emergency Command II, which includes the Northern area of Honduras and are valid through October 29th:
Deaths:
Morazan 2
Quebrada Seca 2
Rio de Piedras 1
El Progreso 6
Guaymitas 1
Armenta 3
La Lima 18
Colon 1
Guanaja 19
Jutiapa 2
La Ceiba 2
Total Reported Deaths: 42
Destroyed Homes (these figures do not include simple flood damage):
Omoa 8
Villanueva 3
Olanchito 80
Potrerillos 68
El Progreso 40
Trujillo 100
Tocoa 40
Roatan 100
Total: 428
Guanaja 75 % of homes destroyed
French Harbor 1 boat
Total Number of Landslides Reported: 6
Other Damages:
Areas without potable water:
Omoa, Cortes, Portrerillos, San Pedro Sula
Areas without electricity:
Omoa, Yorito, Sulaco, Victoria, Arenales
Areas without communication:
El Negrito and Yoro due to flooding
Colonia El Carmen, El Progreso, Tela, Potrerillos, Cortes
Farmland / Crops destroyed:
An estimated 35,000 hectars
Maquila Production loss:
An estimated US $ 2,000,000= daily
Banking and Commerce - Paralyzed
The above information does not include the extensive damage to other areas of the country including Tegucigalpa and Choluteca!!!
10:40 p.m. - Friday, October 30, 1998.
We have been busy compiling a list of information to aid anyone planning to send relief to Honduras. This information has been received via e-mail from various individuals and organizations and can now be found by following the link below. We thank them all for keeping us informed, and for helping to arrange getting goods to Honduras!
MAILING INFORMATION FOR GOODS.
Click Here for Next Day's Reports
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