News Article

Horrible Destruction, But Recovering
By Grant Nolan

On September 4, 2007 a category five hurricane smashed its way through the poverty stricken country of Nicaragua. Hurricane Felix was upgraded to a level five hours before making land fall. Many of the residents of Nicaragua live in hard to reach areas throughout the country. About 11,000 Miskito Indians in the isolated areas did not evacuate before the storm. Officials had trouble getting to the remote areas, but did manage to evacuate more than 31,000 according to the regional army commander Col. Carlos Edgar Meja of the 115th Infantry Brigade. Also, nearly 80 percent of Nicaraguans live below the poverty level, many in ill constructed homes which were destroyed by the hurricane and are now homeless.

The storm killed 133 and 130 of those were living in Nicaragua. After the storm ended, the Government of Nicaragua declared the coast of Nicaragua a disaster area. The hardest hit of the country was that of the Miskito Cays. It was completely destroyed. The storm was affected 40,000 people and also has destroyed 9,000 houses.

Even though Hurricane Felix was so devastating, there are many relief and recovery efforts. The United States has sent 1.17 million USD in assistance and the European Union sent 1.36 million in assistance. Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua, visited some of the hardest hit areas and promised all of the houses to be rebuilt. The country is trying to get back on its feet and pull itself out of poverty, but is being affected by frequent hurricanes and blackouts.

The Iranian government is providing support by spending $120 million to build a hydroelectric plant which will help out with the frequent blackouts. The Iranian government is also spending $350 million dollars to build an ocean port and building 10,000 houses for the Nicaraguan government. The ocean port is being built to enhance the badly weakened economy.

The economy, even though badly weakened, is a growing free-market economy. The country’s main source of revenue is agriculture such as coffee, meat, shellfish, sugar, tobacco, cattle, and gold. The country is trying to renovate its economy into one based upon tourism. The tourism economy will bring the country into a more stable period. Nicaragua is trying to use it natural environment such as volcanoes and beaches to attract and ancient cities as the main reform. The beaches are among the finest and unsettled in the Americas.

The country is trying to fix up ancient cities such as the former capital of Granada. Officials are remodeling up mansions and churches that have been abandoned for years. Monuments are being polished and new restaurants are and hotels are opening. The cities are trying to attract people and are advertising themselves as a cheaper Costa Rica. The hurricane has put a massive set back in the recovery, but many countries and organizations are helping out.