As
Hurricane Felix tracks towards the Central American coastline,
Red Cross Societies along the storm’s path are encouraging
residents to find safe shelter and not risk driving through
flooded areas. Relief teams are standing by to deliver emergency
supplies in the wake of the second major hurricane to strike
the region in two weeks.
Honduras is predicted to receive a direct hit on 4 September,
at which point the storm will move inland, bringing torrential
rains and gusting wind to parts of Nicaragua, Belize, Guatemala
and Mexico. Some of these areas are still picking up the pieces
from Hurricane Dean which made landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan
peninsula 21 August.
The Honduran Red Cross is bracing for Hurricane Felix with round-the-clock
monitoring, mobilization of resources and coordination with
authorities. Relief and intervention teams are on full alert,
especially in the hurricane warning areas. Red Cross warehouse
personnel in El Progreso to the north and La Ceiba on the east
coast are standing by, ready to shift pre-positioned emergency
supplies to affected areas once given the all-clear from authorities.
In Guatemala, Red Cross headquarters is gearing up to support
relief efforts by local Red Cross branches in Puerto Barrios,
Santo Tomás de Castilla, El Estor, Cobán y Petén.
They are working closely with authorities to monitor developments
and prepare a coordinated effort in response to the significant
damage the storm could cause.
Belize Red Cross is back in preparedness mode, having just closed
shelters for evacuated residents due to torrential rains and
thunderstorms during last week of August. Last week, Belize
City was completely underwater, with flooding reaching as high
as 60 cm (2 feet) in some areas.
“A Belize Red Cross team trying to reach the northern
districts of Orange Walk and Corozal, as part of the on-going
Hurricane Dean operation, had to turn back as the main highway
out of the city was totally flooded and the path of the road
could not be seen,” described Thomas Doyle, a disaster
management delegate in Belize, who is assisting with recovery
efforts as part of the response coordinated by the International
Federation’s Pan-American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU).
PADRU, based in Panama, has developed a comprehensive contingency
and preparedness strategy for the 2007 Atlantic storm season.
The unit supports vulnerable people affected by disasters throughout
the Americas by reinforcing the capacity of National Societies
before, during and after emergencies.
“Additional relief supplies for people affected by Hurricane
Dean arrived by air from PADRU including tarpaulins, blankets,
hygiene packs and kitchen sets. These will be distributed as
soon as conditions allow,” added Doyle.
Hurricane Felix is expected to weaken to a category one storm
as it moves inland over Mexico. This may means less wind, but
accompanying drenching rains promise more flooding and potential
landslides from the Yucatan to Mexico City, according to forecasters.
In a nationwide relief effort, Mexican Red Cross volunteers
are assisting communities on the flood-ravaged Pacific coast
from Hurricane Henriette as well as residents still recovering
from Hurricane Dean.
Electricity, telephone and water services have been restored
to 95 per cent of the regions affected by Dean. However, essential
needs remain for food, shelter and seeds to replace lost harvests.
The Mexican Red Cross is planning a three-month campaign to
assist 75,000 people from that storm.
Meanwhile, in preparation for Felix, the Mexican Red Cross has
called up its volunteers in Quintana Roo, the Yucatan, Campeche,
Veracruz and Tamaulipas. Pre-positioned teams are equipped and
ready to provide rescue and first aid, hand out food to 2,500
families, conduct damage assessment and coordinate relief efforts
with the Mexican authorities.
Minimal damage and flooding was sustained to the Netherlands
Antilles, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago when Hurricane Felix
swept through the Caribbean as a category two storm. Aruba sustained
power-outages resulting in calls to the Red Cross for assistance
from elderly residents living alone. Some roofs were ripped
off and trees toppled in Bonaire and Curacao, but all evacuation
shelters on the islands are closed now. Finally, the Trinidad
and Tobago Red Cross handed out relief supplies to affected
residents.
For more information see the
map on hurricane Felix based on the National Hurricane Center.
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Tropical
Storm Felix is pictured moving west in the Caribbean Sea
in this satellite photograph taken at 1745 GMT on September
2, 2007. Hurricane Felix strengthened into a "major"
storm. (REUTERS/National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration/courtesy
www.alertnet.org)
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