ABSTRACT
On 28 October 1998, ‘Hurricane Mitch’ made landfall on the coast of Honduras as a Category 5 hurricane – the strongest category of tropical cyclone. Over the next three days it slowly crossed Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala leaving a trail of destruction caused by the strong winds and the exceptional rainfall (Fig. 3.1). The results were devastating. By 2 November at least 11,000 people had been killed and a similar number were reported missing. Most of the deaths occurred as a result of mudslides and flash floods which also caused economic damage estimated at over US$5 billion in areas that were already poor. The storm left a legacy of destruction in Central America that is still apparent today. Nine years later, on 4 September 2007, ‘Hurricane Felix’, another Category 5 storm, made landfall on the border between Honduras and Nicaragua at almost the same location as ‘Mitch’ (Fig. 3.2). It also slowly tracked across Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala over the next few days bringing strong winds and intense rainfall. But this time, the losses were far less. For example, the estimated number of fatalities was about 135, less than 1 per cent of the number caused by ‘Hurricane Mitch’. The economic damage represented just a fraction of that caused by the previous storm.
