“We've been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stinging rain...and big old fat rain.
Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night.”
- Forrest Gump
So maybe it didn’t rain for 4 months, but it was the most significant rain event in Guatemala since, well, last year. Unfortunately Central America and particularly Guatemala has been battered in consecutive years by once-in-a-decade – maybe once-in-a-lifetime – hurricane storms. Guatemala has a rainy season; the people here are familiar with rain, but not this kind of rain.
I have lived a reasonably sheltered life, and for that I was grateful, for I needed all my sheltering experience to keep warm and dry during this hurricane. At the end of two weeks, when cabin fever was really starting to kick in; the newsfeed started firing. Hurricane Jova has left 10 Dead, 20 dead, 30 dead said the reports. Eventually when all was told, the death toll stood at 81 across the Central America region with Guatemala and El Salvador the most significantly affected.
For many here it was a mere inconvenience – a disruptive force – during their annual vacation from the United States. But for the people of this region the effects will be felt much more heavily and for a prolonged period of time. Jova destroyed what little infrastructure these countries had – flooded rivers washed out bridges, mudslides destroyed roads in and out of towns, and significantly many crops, ready for harvest, have spent 2 weeks submerged in water.
The roads will be rebuilt and the bridges will once again connect the landscape. Immediately the concern is food and water. The variety of produce will diminish and the prices will rise, and those (read more than 50% of Guatemala’s population) that were already struggling to make ends meet will be challenged further to stretch what meagre income they have.
Truth be told the death toll will rise significantly over the coming months as families fail to stretch that meagre income far enough. Parents and children alike will go hungry and suffer health problems from inadequate diets and lack of water. The corrugated tin shanty that was washed away by the swollen river or that slid down the mountain with 10 tonnes of mud will seem like a mansion compared to their habitation for the next few months. But Jova won’t be the flavour of the month in December or January coming – the media, and the world, will have moved on.
For the people of Central America – Guatemala and El Salvador – there is no choice. Hurricane Jova will still be flavour of the month in January coming, and all they will have is hope for a better tomorrow.
Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night.”
- Forrest Gump
So maybe it didn’t rain for 4 months, but it was the most significant rain event in Guatemala since, well, last year. Unfortunately Central America and particularly Guatemala has been battered in consecutive years by once-in-a-decade – maybe once-in-a-lifetime – hurricane storms. Guatemala has a rainy season; the people here are familiar with rain, but not this kind of rain.
I have lived a reasonably sheltered life, and for that I was grateful, for I needed all my sheltering experience to keep warm and dry during this hurricane. At the end of two weeks, when cabin fever was really starting to kick in; the newsfeed started firing. Hurricane Jova has left 10 Dead, 20 dead, 30 dead said the reports. Eventually when all was told, the death toll stood at 81 across the Central America region with Guatemala and El Salvador the most significantly affected.
For many here it was a mere inconvenience – a disruptive force – during their annual vacation from the United States. But for the people of this region the effects will be felt much more heavily and for a prolonged period of time. Jova destroyed what little infrastructure these countries had – flooded rivers washed out bridges, mudslides destroyed roads in and out of towns, and significantly many crops, ready for harvest, have spent 2 weeks submerged in water.
The roads will be rebuilt and the bridges will once again connect the landscape. Immediately the concern is food and water. The variety of produce will diminish and the prices will rise, and those (read more than 50% of Guatemala’s population) that were already struggling to make ends meet will be challenged further to stretch what meagre income they have.
Truth be told the death toll will rise significantly over the coming months as families fail to stretch that meagre income far enough. Parents and children alike will go hungry and suffer health problems from inadequate diets and lack of water. The corrugated tin shanty that was washed away by the swollen river or that slid down the mountain with 10 tonnes of mud will seem like a mansion compared to their habitation for the next few months. But Jova won’t be the flavour of the month in December or January coming – the media, and the world, will have moved on.
For the people of Central America – Guatemala and El Salvador – there is no choice. Hurricane Jova will still be flavour of the month in January coming, and all they will have is hope for a better tomorrow.
