In the early morning hours of September 4, 2007, a hurricane of force 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale hit the coast of Nicaragua and part of the territories of Honduras and Guatemala. And since all hurricanes have a name, this one was called Felix. Thanks to the weather forecast system , it was possible to identify the origin of the hurricane in the Caribbean, thus being able to coordinate actions to combat its destructive effect. Hurricane Felix
Main damages and humanitarian intervention
The strength of the wind exceeded 250 km/h and its trajectory destroyed more than 140 communities near the Atlantic coast. More than 300,000 people suffered from its effects, 102 died, there were a total of 73 missing and more than 17,000 people had to flee their homes. Thousands of homes were destroyed, more than a million hectares of forest were devastated and many communities became temporary refugee camps. Hurricane Felix
The passage of Hurricane Felix particularly affected the Atlantic regions of Nicaragua. There was environmental damage of all kinds: fish deaths in the lakes, reduction of marine vegetation, migration of monkeys to other ecosystems, plantation fields destroyed, damage to river mangroves, etc. These environmental changes had consequences on the food chain of animals and affected fishing and hunting as subsistence activities. Thirty days after the hurricane, river waters were completely polluted.
In a few days, one program to help international aid disbursed about 40 million to carry out the work of emergency and the restoration of basic infrastructure. It should be noted that after the hurricane, several measures had to be taken to control possible forest fires and distribute medicines among the affected populations. Hurricane Felix
The history of natural disasters in Nicaragua
Some experts believe that Nicaragua’s geographic situation is conducive to certain natural disasters. In this sense, people said that this was a “multi-threat” country.
In 1835, the Cosiguina volcano caused an eruption that shook all of Central America.
In 1971, Category 5 Hurricane Edith had similar effects to Hurricane Felix in 2007.
In 1972, there was an earthquake that particularly affected the capital, causing more than 19,000 deaths and the partial destruction of Managua. Hurricane Felix
In 1988, Hurricane Juana led to the evacuation of more than 300,000 people.
In 1992, a tsunami off the Pacific coast caused massive wreckage and more than 170 deaths.
