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Felix is Back to a Serious "Cat" 5 Hurricane
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Roatan and the Bay Islands Off the Coast of Honduras in Central America
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Are Braced for the Storm!
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Much like Hurricane Mitch, Felix is an unpredictable finicky Hurricane with a mind of its own. The fur is standing straight up on his back now as Felix the Cat hits the Honduras Coast with 165 mph winds and and strikes with claws extended at Roatan. The storm is expected to weaken over land and then build again in the Bay of Honduras. That bay holds the 3 Bay Islands of Guanaja, Roatan, and Utilia. Heavily populated with expates that have stayed to ride out the storm.
People are already comparing this storm to Hurricane Mitch that hit here in 1998 leaving Guanaja bald! Every tree was reportedly stripped clean. Could this happen again? The answer is a resounding YES!
Roatan Resorts did their best to evacuated tourists this weekend with the help of the Airlines. One couple we talked to, flew in Saturday and out on Sunday! Arlie Thompson, the Governor announced today that there were additional planes coming to help evacuate as many people as possible from the Island. Today Taca flew in 2 jumbo jets and tonight Atlantica will provided a 727. The air force is also sending a C130 to Roatan.
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How to Use Weather Underground: |
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- Find "Central America" under Map List on left column and click.
- C.A. map will appear. Click "Expand".
- For more details, click on the country, Honduras. Scroll to find "Roatan" and click.
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Yesterday people were concerned with loosing their piers and docks like they did in Hurricane Wilma. Today they are just worried about keeping what they can and saving their own lives!
See pictures of Hurricane Wilma... |
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For those of us staying, Radio announcements continued throughout the day (Monday) asking people to board their windows and move to Emergency Shelters by Tuesday morning. (Please click here for a list of Emergency Shelters in your local area.) Roatan is now "boarded up". By tonight West End Village, Coxen Hole, French Harbor and other gathering places will look like a ghost town.
Does this scare "Felix the Cat"? Apparently Not... Because here He comes!!!!
Yesterday, BIBR moved their boats, cleared out the beach restaurant, evacuated all of their guests and will move the birds inside. Anthony's Key is moving their boats to Gibson Bite, and moving the dolphins to the swimming pool in the center of Anthony's Key. The mother dolphins and their young will be ok next to Bailey's Key says "Eldon" head of the Dolphin Program at Anthony's Key Resort. Although the dolphins will be in fresh water for a couple of days...they will be just fine! All the resort tourists were evacuated today.
Sueno Del Mar is boarding up the beach front of the Hotel and Dive Shop. The boats will be moved to the south side tomorrow. That holds true for Pura Veda as well.
At West Bay beach it was a typical family day today with barbeques, snorkeling, soccer games, and swimming taking place. We grabbed a water walk where we met Fred and Megan who are here from California on their honeymoon. They are in their second week and are to go home Saturday. They were not informed of the evacuation and will battle it out with the rest of us! What a honeymoon to remember!
Today, Monday September 3, 2007 has been a long day for the people of Roatan. People were in line at hardware stores waiting for plywood as early as 6AM. If you were lucky to get through that in less than 2 hours then you were able to spend the next 3 hours in your car waiting for gasoline!
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Tuesday, 5:30AM - It is beginning to look a lot like Felix, everywhere you go. Ellen Van der Weg called last night to describe the Eastern sky as electrified. Lightening was reflecting off the horizon creating quite a light show as Hurricane Felix approached Honduras. This morning it is quiet and still without a breath of wind. The recognizable "calm before the storm". The Islanders say there is no wind because the hurricane is sucking up all the air. They talk about not being able to breath as they wipe sweat from their face.
Monday, 5PM- Wow what a day! Hats off to everyone who helped serve the tons of people who needed plywood and supplies today. They sacrificed their time to prepare their own families for the storm to serve others! A special thanks to Deborah at Serrano's who made sure that wood and metal sheets were distributed in fare shares today. Hats off to Hyber Supplies employees who helped people all morning and still had smiles on their faces this afternoon! I was one of the 100's of people who got to stand in line for a couple of hours this morning for lumbar and then move to the car to wait another 3 hours for gasoline. I think i used more gas waiting than i would have needed for the whole week! Bo jangles is "boarded up" but still serving chicken. The grocery stores are boarded but still open although there is not much left in them...oh, I'm sorry, of course there are cornflakes - just no milk! Many crossed the "ouch to boing" financial side of Island living today by buying their first generator...needless to say we know that because we were one of them. You can't report the news without electricity! And of course the number one day that we needed electricity to prepare food ahead of time, Reco was down all day!
Ok, on the serious side, people are being moved to more secure housing throughout the Island via Emergency Shelters and nice neighbors sharing their homes. One thing you can definitely say about this Island is that everyone helps the other one in times of need. Many people left for the mainland but that may not have been a good idea now that Hurricane Felix has moved farther South West. Felix is now predicted to move through just South of Roatan and The Bay Islands so our lashing will be a bit worse. The good news is that the intensity of the storm has reduced from a roaring "Cat" 5 to a clawing "Cat" 3. Is this "Felix the Cat" at work ticking us yet again? We will have to see what his bag of tricks holds for us tomorrow....goodnight! |
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Sunday, 7PM - It is not looking good for us here in Roatan. Everything has just been upgraded to a cat. 5 and it looks mean! We are all praying that it shift as North as possible so that we can put some distance between us and the eye. Hurricane Wilma a cat. 3 was 100 miles off the coast of Roatan and most of the piers were destroyed. Hurricane Felix is predicted to hit us only 25 miles from the coast ! We are trying to decide whether to leave the island or not. Will be in touch.... |
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Saturday Sept. 1, 2007 - Ok, here we go again...To Do List: fill car with gas, fill extra gas containers, check battery supplies, medical supplies, canned goods, freeze bread, etc. By the way...Hurricane Dean did not cause any reef damage...as a matter of fact the reef is cleaner and the tidal pools refreshed! Reservations have been up with avid divers! |
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Hurricane Dean Picture and Articles
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Friday, August 24, 2007 - Walking along the Sandy Bay Roatan Coral Reef beach this morning showed boats returning to this side (North) of the Island and the sport fisherman's business returning to normal. Morning glories that had edged their way to the Caribbean are still covered in mounds of turtle grass waiting to be raked and taken to enrich gardens farther inland. The shore line is always changing on an Island, but hurricane forces create a more dramatic change in a short period of time. Tidal pools are clear and sparkling, teeming with life! What can i say... there is never a dull moment in Roatan which makes paradise living a constant source of entertainment! |
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Tuesday, AM - The sun is peeking out and the wind is still from the West. High waves at the reef - just beautiful white foam everywhere! Water level is still elevated with strong currents. Very murky with no visibility - no diving today! No casualties or damage that we know of. Flowers are blooming, humming birds are skirting about - just another day in paradise... |
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5 PM - White caps within the reef and surf is up about 8 feet from normal. Sea water is creeping over the sandy road in West End. Will post new pictures later. |
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Mon. 1 PM - Heavy rains, strong wind and surf. It has begun! Honduras news report for Roatan has been telling everyone to stop working and go home. People that did not believe it was really coming are now fully convinced. Computer images are everywhere you go...in stores, cars, and homes...and the mere size of the satellite image has us all on alert. We hope we will be able to keep reporting, but electricity here goes out quickly. |
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Sat. - Gasoline supply is running short as people "fill up" to prepare for Hurricane status on Roatan Island. Removable Docks and Pier boards are being taken up in sections to maintain damage control. Waterfront homes are securing outside objects and boarding windows. Is this overkill???? Nobody thinks so! Hurricane Dean is projecting hurricane strength winds up to 75 miles from its center. The expanse of the total storm is up to 200 miles from the center. The storm has recently shifted to the South West, placing Roatan in the outer skirts of the hurricane. Heavy rains, surf, and wind are expected. After Hurricane Wilma 2 years ago, with its intense coastal damage, no one here is taking any chances. Better to be prepared than to take risks on costly pier and home repairs. People seem calm but alert. Grocery shopping is at an all time high and batteries are already gone as flashlights are loaded for the only sure prediction - no electricity! Communications may be down for awhile due to lack of electricity and satellite signals, so be patient as folks wait to report to "the outside world". More than likely everyone is just fine! |
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Late Monday evening...last look before dark |
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Pier ok and steps holding! The pier is shaking from the high winds so sharp pictures are hard to take. |
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An innocent bystander... |
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A refreshing sight during the hurricane Mon. night |
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