How did people respond after Hurricane Mitch?
Since the hurricane struck, CARE’s Mitch-related work in Guatemala has included emergency response, water and sanitation system rehabilitation, agricultural recovery, reforestation and watershed protection in the Polochic river basin, Alta and Baja Verapaz Departments.
Why did Hurricane Mitch affect poor people more severely than others?
Because of the region’s low human development and a high poverty rate of about 75 percent, rural areas received very little aid compared to those in more urban areas. The urban areas were able to rebuild much faster while the rest of the country languished.
How did Hurricane Mitch affect the environment?
In November 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated the Central American countries of Nicaragua and Honduras, while inflicting heavy damage on neighboring countries. Relatively unscathed by Mitch were hillside plots farmed in a traditional method whereby crops like coffee and cocoa are grown under the shade of canopy trees.
What made Hurricane Mitch so deadly?
Hurricane Mitch is the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, causing over 11,000 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately 7,000 in Honduras and 3,800 in Nicaragua due to cataclysmic flooding from the slow motion of the storm.
What country Hurricane Mitch hit?
Honduras
Impact of Hurricane Mitch in Central America
| COUNTRY | EFFECTS | |
|---|---|---|
| Dead | Disappeared | |
| Honduras | 6,600 | 8,052 |
| Nicaragua | 2,863 | 970 |
| El Salvador | 239 | 29 |
What was the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch?
Mitch directly caused $2.005 billion in damage, with an additional $1.8 billion in indirect costs. Most of the damage was ruined crops, and cash crop exports were cut by 9.4% in 1999, largely due to the storm.
Where did Hurricane Mitch affect in Central America?
In one area alone, Posoltega, more than 2,000 people perished in a huge mudslide. The other Central American nations (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama) also were affected by Hurricane Mitch, although the death tolls in these locations were significantly lower than Honduras and Nicaragua.
What was the wind speed of Hurricane Mitch?
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, developed in the early 1970s, is a 1 to 5 rating system based on a hurricane’s intensity. A Category 1 storm has sustained winds of 74-95 mph, while a Category 5 storm has sustained winds of 157 mph or higher. Honduras and Nicaragua were especially hard hit by the hurricane.
How many people died in Hurricane Mitch in Honduras?
Overall, Hurricane Mitch killed about 7,000 people in Honduras, with 11,000 missing in the months after the storm. There were 8,000 people listed as missing about ten days after Mitch struck, although problems with record-keeping made it difficult to determine the exact total.