Since March we have had limitations on the days of circulating and in access to banks and stores, based on the last number of our identity cards. It was not easy, but it was an effort to cut down the agglomeration of people in public spaces.
This week the Honduran government had called for the Feriado Morazanico, five days of free circulation throughout the country. This was touted as a way to benefit the tourist industry. Some of us believe this is ill-conceived and could open us up to further dissemination of COVD-19. But Tropical Storm Eta, which will probably be a full-scale hurricane, is coming and the government has postponed the feriado.
The weather has been very strange this year. It’s been hotter than usual the past few months and we have had more rain than normal. The rain has resulted in terrible roads and in some landslides.
Two weeks ago, a landslide destroyed a house in one rural community, while the family was inside. Thanks be to God they escaped.
But it has been raining almost continuously for the past few days and we have rarely seen the sun. As a result, the roads are even worse and the danger of landslides is high.
On the northern coast the situation is serious with major flooding in Tela, Atlantida, and other communities.
What will happen when Eta comes into Honduras?
Some are suggesting that this could be very bad, as when Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras in 1998, which brought about 7000 deaths in the country.
The roads here are treacherous in some places. The torrential rains are complicating a situation of roads that have deteriorated due to the earlier rains and the lack of maintenance. Massive ruts make driving an obstacle course and wreak havoc on the vehicles. Even in some cases when there have been repairs, the lack of putting down gravel has led to slippery roads.
It rained almost all of Sunday night and Monday morning. I had planned to accompany the pastor to a 7:00 am Mass in the cemetery of Joyas Galanas and Plan de Naranjo, about an hour from where I live.
When I got up at 4:30 am (since I couldn’t sleep), I wondered whether I should go. But I left at about 6:00 am.
All went well till I got to a place a few kilometers before Joyas Galanas.
A few weeks ago I had passed through here and taken a picture which I sent to the assistant mayor of Dolores. When I approached the site, I saw that they had done some work there. I thought I’d make it up the hill, but then I started slipping, although I was in four-wheel drive. I found myself straddling the road.
After some efforts to more the car, with the help of someone who had come along, I saw the pastor’s car come up behind us. He ended up getting the car into a driveway nearby and I proceeded up the hill with him, though I felt at least once that we were “slip, sliding away.”
We got to the cemetery, where the people had prepared tarps for the Mass. All went well until we went to leave. The pastor’s car got stuck and it had to be pulled out of the mud by the people in the community.
He left me off where we had left my pickup and I proceeded home safely.
I decided to spend today at home – reading, writing, praying (for the US on election day), relaxing. It’s been raining almost continuously since last night and so I didn’t want to venture out.
I’ll go out tomorrow since I need to have the pickup looked at and since I need to pick up a few things in Santa Rosa.
Thursday and Friday should be the days when Eta most affects our area. We have a wedding scheduled in a rural community but the roads are fairly good to get there.
Please keep all of us in Nicaragua and Honduras in your prayers. A major tropical storm only makes the situation worse.
One note. If you want to provide assistance, be very careful. The corruption and the inefficiency will most likely run rampant – as they did after Hurricane Mitch. This is especially problematic since the election campaigns are beginning and aid is often manipulated by the ruling political party. In addition, some international agencies prioritize their goals, instead of responding to the needs and goals of the country. A detailed study of this can be found in Jeffrey T. Jackson, The Globalizers: Development Workers in Action, published in 2005. (I read it in 2013.)
On a personal note. I am doing well. I have enough food in the house and enough propane for the stove. I am at the top of a hill and so there is little risk of flooding. The pickup will be checked out tomorrow. The only serious concerns for me are the status of the roads and the availability of electricity and the internet – very much first world concerns. But my neighbors and others are not so privileged and so I’ll try to be available to help as I can.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment