Hurricane Mitch: A path of destruction
Hurricane Mitch occurred in 1998. It was the most destructive hurricane to strike Central America with 180 mph winds and dumped between 300 and 1800 mm of rains on Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Finally, after six horrifying days, the torrential rains stopped. The death toll was reported as 11,000 with thousands of others missing. More than three million people were made homeless or severely affected. In this extremely poor third world region of the globe, estimates of the total damage of the storm were over $5 billion.
The whole of the country of Honduras 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 either buried in mass graves or their bodies were cremated.
In some areas, whole villages were washed away and an estimated 70 to 80% of roads and 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 was $4 billion in Honduras alone.
At least 70% of the crops on farms were destroyed, including almost the entire 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 as bananas, for example, take 4 years to grow. The damage by Hurricane Mitch to Honduran agricultural production will take years for recovery.
