Cruiser Guy/Hurricane

[Vanny]

Hey Charles,

I was just wondering how things are in Guatemala with the hurricane and all. Hopefully you won't see too much water in the next few days. I know the Tac Tic area was badly flooded a couple of weeks ago. If there is any way guys up here can donate items or cash to repair homes etc. in Mexico, Belize or Guatemala, maybe you can post a web site to direct us.

Blessings

 

[cruiser_guy]

I was surprised, we didn't get as much rain as I was expecting yesterday. It was clouded over as compared with the clear blue skys on Monday but we only had a little rain yesterday afternoon.

There is a guy here from the Southern Baptist's that was really involved two years ago with Hurricane Stan. I'll talk to him regarding any reconstruction needs.

I'll PM you our phone number down here. It's a local New West number over the internet!!

 

[canucksafari]

Hey Charles,

We left Mexico City Monday evening after over 5 weeks in the highlands visiting family. Man was I happy when my Safari jumped to life at 12:30 AM Tues at SEATAC after sitting most of the summer. It would not have been nice with three tired kids and a grumpy wife if it hadn't.

We had lots of heavy rain while we were in Mexico. Afternoon rain is normal for this time of year. There were also lots of reports of severe flooding, property damage and deaths from the summer rains. Deforestation causing severe erosion combined with heavier rains from climate change is a big problem. You will remember that when the island that Haiti and Dominica was last hit by a hurricane only Haiti suffered extensive damage and loss of life. Haiti's trees have been pretty much all cut down while Dominica's forests are fairly well intact.

Just had an e-mail from my niece at school in Hidalgo and they are getting hit with lots of heavy rain. This is what tends to hit poor communities the worst from a hurricane / tropical storm- the excessive water causes flooding and mud slides. The material their homes are made of typically can not take much of either. The same time, the winds from heavy tropical storms have a habit of destroying corn crops which the poor can not afford to loose without they and their animals going hungry the rest of the year. Looks like this storm will keep heading North through Central Mexico but will probably not make much more news cause the wealthy are not impacted and we will not be looking at 20,000-30,000 immediately killed. Sad but true, as I see this happen all the time in my line of work.

Vanny, in most cases I recommend that people send cash to the organization or people they trust. The cost of shipping in funds and time doing logistics even when you get it for next to nothing often is a lot more than what it costs to buy the needed supplies locally. Most cases all the supplies needed can be found and purchased when needed within a few hours transport.

Cheers, John

 

[cruiser_guy]

Just had an e-mail from my niece at school in Hidalgo and they are getting hit with lots of heavy rain. This is what tends to hit poor communities the worst from a hurricane / tropical storm- the excessive water causes flooding and mud slides. The material their homes are made of typically can not take much of either. The same time, the winds from heavy tropical storms have a habit of destroying corn crops which the poor can not afford to loose without they and their animals going hungry the rest of the year. Looks like this storm will keep heading North through Central Mexico but will probably not make much more news cause the wealthy are not impacted and we will not be looking at 20,000-30,000 immediately killed. Sad but true, as I see this happen all the time in my line of work.

Vanny, in most cases I recommend that people send cash to the organization or people they trust. The cost of shipping in funds and time doing logistics even when you get it for next to nothing often is a lot more than what it costs to buy the needed supplies locally. Most cases all the supplies needed can be found and purchased when needed within a few hours transport.

Cheers, John

All true!! Hurricane Stan two years ago was a mere blip on the news radar since the tidal wave hit two days later in Indonesia.

Here in Guatemala there is a campaign, that apparently started after Hurricane Mitch, where the government provides the concrete blocks to build the house and the locals have a year to finish. The trouble is the locals don't often have the time since it's a day to day existence for many of the poorer folks.

 

[cruiser_guy]

Well Felix is now on the way and by the look of it we'll be more affected by this one then we were by the last one.

 

[canucksafari]

Hi Charles. I am praying that this one blows out quickly. Just spoke with family in Mexico last night and they have already lost a lot of the corn crop due to blow down which is no beginning to rot in the fields with all the rain. Until they got hit by the remnants of Stan, it was looking like a bumper crop. It is going to be a real tough year for those who live of the land.

Keep us updated. Cheers,

John