| ShanaTX |
| (Storm Tracker) |
| Tue Sep 04 2007 07:29 AM |
Re: Landfall
|
What is concerning me about Felix is that although tourists on outlying islands seem to be airlifted out of the way, the poorest residents of the mainland area expected to bear the brunt of Felix are just told 'do your best to get out - we can't help'
From AP reports (news.yahoo.com)
Quote:
A storm surge of more than 18 feet above normal tides could devastate Indian communities along the Miskito Coast, a swampy, isolated region straddling the Honduras-Nicaragua border where thousands live in wooden shacks, get around on canoes and subsist on fish, beans, rice, cassava and plantains.
"There's nowhere to go here," said teacher Sodeida Rodriguez, 26, who was hunkering down in a concrete shelter.
The only path to safety is up rivers and across lakes that are too shallow for regular boats, but many lack gasoline for long journeys. Provincial health official Efrain Burgos said shelters were being prepared, and medicine and sanitation kits were being brought in, but that 18,000 people must find their own way to higher ground.
"We're asking the people who are on the coasts to find a way to safer areas, because we don't have the capability to transport so many people," he said. "The houses are made of wood. They're going to be completely swept away. They're not safe."
Another thing I noticed in the article is this ... and I was surprised more wasn't being made of it ...
Quote:
If Felix regains Category 5 winds before striking land, it would be the first time in recorded history that two such killer storms have made landfall in the same season, hurricane specialist Jamie Rhome said in Miami.