Honduras (MNN) — Hurricane Felix slammed into the Nicaragua-Honduras border on Tuesday, breaking records before it even struck.
The scale-topping Category 5 storm marks the first time in the history of recorded weather data that two Atlantic hurricanes in a single season reached land as top-level storms. Only 31 hurricanes have been measured at Category 5 in the Atlantic since data collection began in 1886.
The fierce storm has many Christian organizations on edge and ready for action.
While the 165-mile-per-hour winds packed quite a punch, they quickly decreased to 120 miles per hour as the hurricane made landfall. However, the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee's Jakob Kramer says they're more concerned about the lingering rain, which was the cause of so much damage 10 years ago during Hurricane Mitch.
"The real damage was done in the mainland of Honduras, and it was very much the result of flooding and enormous landslides — mudslides."
12,000 people died as a result. Thousands of people have already been evacuated away from rivers and streams to flatter areas, away from mountains.
According to Kramer, the CRWRC is unique. "We're able to work with the local churches there. And with Christ as the center of our lives, we're able to express that in Honduras, particularly during a time of calamity."
As Christians, Kramer tells us what our response should be. "Our response should be prayer, knowing that we will have considerable damage."
According to Kramer, Hurricane Felix WILL have victims. "It always results in quite considerable damage to people who lose their not-too- stable housing. We hope to be able to help, rebuild and work together to rebuild their farms."
While it's impossible to predict the damage, Kramer says people living in the valleys and near rivers and streams are the most at-risk.
According to some reports, thousands of people were evacuated. However, thousands more weren't. Pray for their safety.
