More Than 100 Still Missing from Brutal Storm
Date: 09/17/2007The death toll from Hurricane Felix, which hit Nicaragua earlier this month, has climbed past 100, as government officials confirmed that 21 Nicaraguans washed ashore in neighboring Honduras.
The army estimates that some 162,000 people living on the northeastern Atlantic coast were affected by the storm and at least 110 are still missing. Relief workers were able to rescue nearly 300 families caught in remote mountainous towns after a few residents hiked their way through washed-out roads to alert authorities.
The region is among the poorest in Nicaragua, with many relying on fishing and farming for income. The largely Miskito Indian population forms part of a broad autonomy zone long at odds with the Nicaraguan government, and some complained that they received little warning of the hurricane.
The damaged region has few tourist facilities and very few businesses operate here. But a Canadian company, Radius Gold Inc., announced that its mining exploration near Puerto Cabezas was "extensively damaged" from the hurricane.
The United Nations representative in Managua, Alfredo Massiar, is requesting $46 million in donations over the next six months to rebuild the devastated Atlantic coast.
Nicaraguan business leaders held a telethon last Wednesday, raising several million dollars, while hotel owners in popular tourist towns like San Juan del Sur have also been holding special events to benefit the cause. The U.S. government and others have recently increased aid to the area.
President Daniel Ortega, who met with the U.S. Ambassador last week to discuss relief efforts, said the government is committed to rebuilding the damaged towns.
Your Latin America Insider,
Suzan Haskins
for International Living
P.S. To learn more about Nicaragua, visit Panama next month.
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