Felix doesn't live here anymore

La Ceiba sky, 10 a.m., September 5, 2007

So much to talk about (not hurricanes, but those who take advantage of them), but I'm sure that there are still many concerned about their friends and relatives in Honduras so here is an update:

Hurricane Felix was a non-event for Honduras.

With the exception of the sparsely populated La Mosquitia area, reports from people living in La Ceiba, Roatán, Gracias, Juticalpa, San Pedro, Siguatepeque, Tegucigalpa, Tela, Trujillo, Tocoa, Utila all report the same thing:

Honduras had some rain and no wind to speak of. Several people in those areas commented that the rain was actually LESS than any normal day during rainy season. Here at my house, we received one inch (2.5 cm.) of rain from 6:20 until 11:00 p.m. last night and there has been no rain for the past 12 hours. Early reports from COPECO (Honduran national emergency agency) reported that agriculture, a major concern for Honduras, would not be affected at all.

COPECO reported at 11 a.m. this morning that 122 houses in La Mosquitia (Moskitia) were damaged but that there were no deaths. La Mosquitia is a very isolated area, really only accessible by air or boat, so we aren't getting many details. Nicaragua took the brunt of Hurricane Felix.

COPECO also reported that they are monitoring the river levels, particularly in the San Pedro area. There has been some flooding but, according to the commissioner, nothing significant. Approximately 8,000 people living in marginal areas subject to flooding have been taken to shelters as a precautionary measure. Alerts are remaining in effect because if the rain returns, there could be problems.

You never know how outrageous the media coverage (international and local) is until you are in the middle of what is happening. It has been so wrong on this situation and not only wrong guesses, which are forgivable, but absolutely FALSE reporting − CNN and the Weather Channel included.

Apparently CNN was showing video from Aruba, which was hit by Felix, while they were reporting under the banner "Live from La Ceiba" or "Live from Roatan." At the time of these reports, these cities were not even receiving rain yet.

Hopefully, this will ease some minds.