Felix: Indigenous People struggled to find shelter

DAKURA, Nicaragua --

The chopper hovered for a moment. So many people below. But the
pilot landed anyway and they rushed forward, these people, homeless and
desperate. All of them, at once.

They asked: ''Agua?'' They pleaded: ''Agua.'' They screamed:
''Agua!'' There was no agua on this Nicaraguan military helicopter
Thursday and, as events unfolded, there almost was no helicopter.

Authorities said Hurricane Felix killed at least 98 people from this
and other fishing villages along the Miskito Coast, some of their
bodies carried into neighboring Honduran waters.

Other indigenous people were plucked from the sea barely alive,
clinging to driftwood. Scores were missing. Officials worried about a
secondary disaster as floodwaters rumbled from the mountains toward the
coast.

Tens of thousands of people struggled to find shelter. Everyone
searched for food and fuel. And -- most of all -- for agua, agua, agua.

Clean drinking water.

''This is an invisible Katrina,'' said Alejandro Chicheri, a United
Nations relief worker who was one of the first outsiders to reach the
remote area. ``The people live so far away from everything that the
outside world will see very little of it.''

THE RELIEF EFFORT

This is what was seen Thursday in the village of Dakura, population
1,500 -- before Felix's core leveled it with 160-mph winds two days
earlier:

That first relief flight by the Nicaraguan helicopter landed, and
the people pressed hard against the aircraft. Scores, maybe hundreds of
them.

The chopper swayed, rocked, became dangerously unstable. The
military crew had no choice. They pushed the people back. The chopper
lifted off without delivering a thing.

''The water and the wind took everything,'' Bercia Webster, 25, said
as the helicopter rose away. ``We are going to die here if we don't get
help.''

The crew knew this, so it tried again. The chopper landed. Same thing. Agua! Agua! Agua! Off it went again.

Village leaders finally calmed the crowd while the helicopter
circled. It eventually dropped down for a third, more successful
landing.

Soldiers unloaded blankets and food. Then, they carried aboard 10 of
the injured for a flight 30 miles south to the equally wounded town of
Puerto Cabezas.

''This has blown these communities 100 years into the past,'' said
Reynaldo Francis, a regional governor. ``So much of the future for
these people was lost in all this.''

He stayed behind with several relief workers to free more space for the injured on the first flight in -- and out.

This crew had no water to leave behind, but others followed,
carrying crates of bottled water for the desperately parched survivors
of Dakura.

In Honduras and in parts of Guatemala, meanwhile, rivers kept rising
and overflowing. At least three people died in Honduras, victims of
floods or mudslides.

Several landslides blocked roads in Honduras, including one that
formed a barrier on the primary highway between two main cities, the
capital of Tegucigalpa and the northwestern city of San Pedro Sula.

Many bridges were washed out in Honduras, and officials in Nicaragua
told the already battered residents of the Miskito Coast to prepare for
the next disaster, which was en route.

''We are waiting for the second part of this terrible weather
phenomenon, the arrival of the floodwaters that are coming from the
rain left in the mountains,'' said Carolina Echeverría, a Honduran
congresswoman from the region.

But it was the Nicaraguans along the swampy, impoverished coast who seemed in the most trouble and despair.

SURVIVORS LAMENT

In Puerto Cabezas, Norman Hendy worried about 10 cousins lost at sea since Felix crashed ashore.

''They are so young and full of life,'' said Hendy, 30, a local councilman.

His relatives were among the Miskito fishermen who had gone out to a
nearby place called Keys to fish for lobster and tortoises from pangas
-- flat dugout canoes.

They received word that a hurricane was coming, but there was no dry
land in Keys so they tied their pangas to posts in the water, hoping to
wait out the storm.

It didn't work.

Fifty-two washed up alive north of Nicaragua's border with Honduras.
But at least 32 bodies also washed ashore in Honduras, and other bodies
were seen floating in the sea and in rivers.

In response, military units from the United States, Nicaragua and
Honduras pressed forward with relief missions. Nicaraguan helicopter
crews picked up survivors.

''We found five of them clinging to logs and pieces of their
destroyed boats,'' said Capt. Enrique Garcia. ``Everything they own was
lost at sea, and their houses back in their villages were destroyed.
They have nothing.''

In Dakura, the remains of tin roofs seemed braided through the
branches of felled mango trees -- 100-year-old mammoths that helped the
village survive when fishing wasn't enough.

The storm surge poisoned wells with salt water, and children already grew ill.

Women rocked and wailed in grief in Dakura's fields, mourning the 11 people confirmed dead here.

Bialina Williams fainted from thirst and anguish. She briefly
stopped breathing, and family members frantically resuscitated her
using a crude version of the mouth-to-mouth technique.

Williams grieved for her uncle, the village's beloved Rev. Sruto Padilla, who died when his house collapsed.

His Moravian church, one of the few concrete block buildings in a
village of wood-stilt houses, stood in a pile of red-and-white rubble.

''We don't even have a church anymore,'' said Ricardo Diego-Thompson, 21, Padilla's nephew. ``It's hard to even pray.''

COMAYAGUA, Honduras --

The death toll rose to at least 18 in Nicaragua and flood waters
rose to perilous levels in Honduras on Wednesday as the remnants of
Hurricane Felix continued to bury much of the region in rain.

In Nicaragua, where Felix struck land a day earlier as a Category 5
hurricane, a civil defense spokesman said Wednesday night that at least
18 people died and another 60 people were missing.

In neighboring Honduras, serious flooding was reported in many
areas, especially in the populous northwest section around the city of
San Pedro Sula.

There, the Ulúa River and other rivers could not contain heavy rain
that fell for 24 hours -- and kept falling Wednesday night -- on
surrounding mountains.

''I haven't seen these rivers so high in many years and they are
still rising,'' said Roberto Micheletti, president of Honduras'
National Congress.

At the same time, government officials expressed hope that Honduras
might escape the massive post-hurricane mudslides that have killed
thousands in the past.

And a multinational effort began to aid the hard-hit Mosquito Coast in eastern Nicaragua and Honduras.

A U.S. military Chinook helicopter, en route to the especially
devastated region around Puerto Cabezas, stopped for fuel Wednesday at
Managua's airport and was quickly approached by Nicaraguan authorities
in need of help.

''We have various communities that have been completely destroyed,''
said Nicaraguan Air Force Major Douglas Gonzalez. ``Tuapi had 107
houses and only seven are still there. And those don't have roofs. The
rest of them no longer exist.''

He said that ''everything was destroyed'' in a 20-mile stretch north of Puerto Cabezas.

The U.S. Southern Command also diverted the USS Wasp -- which
resembles an aircraft carrier and can accommodate helicopters and some
fixed-wing aircraft -- from an exercise in the Caribbean to the coast
of Nicaragua to assist with disaster relief efforts.

Rear Adm. Harry Harris, director of operations for the command, said
the Wasp was expected to arrive in the area Thursday and will be used
``to coordinate and synchronize U.S. military assistance to the people
of Nicaragua.''

Even as help began arriving, the storm's rain kept falling and its
runoff kept accumulating -- and early indications were worrisome.

Thousands of people were flooded out of their homes Wednesday and 10
relatively small landslides were reported around Honduras. In many
cases, the floods carried raw sewage into houses. Some people rode away
from their homes in the scoops of bulldozers.

Those living near the Ulúa were most endangered.

''We are alarmed by the heavy rains falling in the mountains upriver
that will cause the river to rise higher,'' Marcos Burgos, Honduras'
emergency commissioner, said as he placed several towns between San
Pedro Sula and the Caribbean on ``red alert.''

Many evacuees retreated to shelters, only to find them closed. They
said local officials had let down their guard after the winds subsided.

That was just what forecasters feared would happen.

The National Hurricane Center issued its last advisory on Felix
early Wednesday, saying that the storm's winds were dissipating over
Central America's mountains.

But the forecasters warned that Felix remained capable of inflicting
great harm by dumping six to 10 inches of rain on Nicaragua and El
Salvador, eight to 15 inches on Honduras and a mammoth 25 inches on
some mountainous areas.

Guatemala also received a drenching Wednesday.

''These rains will likely produce life-threatening flash floods and
mudslides,'' said hurricane specialist Lixion Avila. ``Persons in
flood-prone areas should take all necessary precautions to protect life
and property.''

The Ulúa runs for about 150 miles through northwestern Honduras,
starting in the central highlands, flowing northeastward and emptying
into the Gulf of Honduras in the Caribbean east-northeast of Puerto
Cortés.

Along the way, it is joined by the Sulaco, Otoro and Chamelecon rivers.

''All people living near the Ulúa River should be on high the
alert,'' Burgos told residents. ``The river is rising alarmingly.
Please pay close attention to your mayors and local emergency
committees.''

At least one house was destroyed by a landslide just outside San Pedro Sula, according to local residents.

Along the Mosquito Coast, nearly every building in and around Puerto
Cabezas was destroyed or damaged when Felix made landfall Tuesday as a
top-scale Category 5 storm.

''This is a major disaster,'' said Conor Walsh, director of Catholic Relief Services in Nicaragua.

Nicaraguan, Honduran and U.S. military officials mustered teams to
search for missing residents along the Mosquito Coast region, assess
the scope of the devastation and plan recovery operations.

The U.S. Southern Command, based in Miami, deployed an assessment
team and helicopters from Joint Task Force Bravo, based at Soto Cano
Air Base in Honduras.

''Military planners will continue to work with interagency partners
and their counterparts in countries affected by Felix to assess
recovery needs in the affected areas and identify U.S. military units
that may be able to provide assistance,'' the command said in an
official statement.

Col. Orlando Cantarero of the Honduran armed forces said the first
step was to send reconnaissance flights into the area ``to verify
damages and where people are suffering outdoors.

''Second, we are already readying the first air loads for their
relief and third we are going to help our Nicaraguan brothers who have
been hit very hard,'' he said. ``We are going to send 10 doctors during
their emergency and supplies like roofing, bedding and food.''

The Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa quoted President Daniel Ortega as saying that five people died in Puerto Cabezas.

He said one person was missing there, more than 3,000 homes were
destroyed, 2,686 were damaged and at least 4,000 people were homeless.

Back in Honduras, tourism officials said Felix spared the popular
vacation islands of Roatán, Utila and Guanaja and nearby cities along
the northern coast. All resumed normal operations Wednesday, a
spokeswoman said.

COMAYAGUA, Honduras --

Rescue and relief missions were under way Wednesday as the remnants
of Hurricane Felix dropped torrents of rain on cities and villages
tucked into Central America's mountains and valleys.

Felix killed at least five people, including a baby born outdoors in
the storm, in Nicaragua and one man in Honduras, according to early,
fragmentary reports. A variety of ominous but unconfirmed accounts said
scores were missing at sea.

The confirmed toll seemed certain to rise as information arrived from remote regions.

''This is a major disaster,'' said Conor Walsh, director of Catholic Relief Services in Nicaragua.

On Wednesday, Nicaraguan, Honduran and U.S. military officials
mustered teams to search for missing residents of the hard-hit Mosquito
Coast region, assess the scope of the devastation and plan recovery
operations.

The Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa quoted President Daniel Ortega as
saying that five people died in the Mosquito Coast city of Puerto
Cabezas.

He said one person was missing there, more than 3,000 homes were
destroyed, 2,686 were damaged and at least 4,000 people were homeless.

The U.S. Southern Command, based in Miami, said it was deploying an
assessment team and helicopters from Joint Task Force Bravo, based at
Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras.

''Military planners will continue to work with interagency partners
and their counterparts in countries affected by Felix to assess
recovery needs in the affected areas and identify U.S. military units
that may be able to provide assistance,'' the command said in an
official statement.

Meanwhile, hurricane forecasters issued their last advisory on
Felix, saying its winds were dissipating over Central America's
mountains.

But they warned that the storm remained capable of inflicting great
harm by dumping six to 10 inches of rain on Nicaragua and El Salvador,
eight to 15 inches on Honduras and a mammoth 25 inches on some
mountainous areas.

''These rains will likely produce life-threatening flash floods and
mudslides,'' said hurricane specialist Lixion Avila of the National
Hurricane Center in west Miami-Dade County.

''Persons in flood-prone areas should take all necessary precautions to protect life and property,'' he warned.

During the story, some indigenous people -- with no other option --
apparently sought shelter in shallow trenches, covering themselves with
animal skins or palm fronds, according to Luigi Lotto, a relief worker
in the Mosquito Coast, a swampy, impoverished area of Honduras and
Nicaragua.

''Our most serious problems in this region are just beginning,''
said Lotto, who works for the Irish aid agency GOAL in Puerto Lempira.

The screaming wind stripped roofs off countless buildings --
including some shelters. The battering surf destroyed docks and other
structures. The slanting rain washed away roads and bridges and pooled
into waist-deep floods -- and more rain kept falling.

''Let's prepare for the worst,'' said Ricardo Alvarez, the mayor of
Tegucigalpa, a capital city of one million people who live in a
topographical bowl, surrounded by mountains. ``Every citizen must be
ready to become a life-saver.''

One terrible distinction: This was the first time in recorded
history that two Category 5 storms have come ashore during the same
season. Just two weeks ago, powerful Hurricane Dean hit Mexico's
Yucatán Peninsula.

And another: On the Pacific Coast, Hurricane Henriette slammed its
80-mph winds into the Mexican resorts surrounding Cabo San Lucas. It
was the first time in recorded history that Atlantic and Pacific
hurricanes made landfall during the same day.

Tuesday began with Felix's core, accompanied by an 18-foot wall of
water, drilling into extreme northeastern Nicaragua about 10 miles
north-northeast of Puerto Cabezas.

The storm's winds reached 160 mph, racing around an eye so perfectly
formed and distinct that it could be seen on satellite photos.

As a result, nearly every building in Puerto Cabezas lost its
thatched or sheet-metal roof and power and water services were severed,
according to Walsh. In addition, the airport control tower has been
destroyed, potentially slowing relief efforts.

''Puerto Cabezas is a scene of absolute devastation, the city is trashed,'' Walsh said.

Relaying reports from the interior that he called reliable, Walsh
said all 300 families in the village of Auas Tingni were left homeless.

It was worse along the coast, he said, where families in Barra Sandy
Bay tried to escape floods by taking to the ocean in traditional panga
boats -- long, low skiffs unsuitable for rough seas.

Two boats overturned and an estimated 45 people have not been found,
he said. Other reports spoke of missing lobster boats from Honduras and
Nicaragua.

Though Felix's winds faded rapidly as the storm passed over the
mountains of Nicaragua and Honduras, its abundant rain covered a vast
area susceptible to floods and mudslides.

Worse, its forward speed slowed, giving its rain-laden clouds more
time to linger over cities, towns, villages and -- most worrisome of
all -- mountains and valleys.

Officials said one Honduran died in a road accident caused by a rain-induced landslide.

In addition to the newborn baby in Nicaragua, one man died there of
a heart attack after refusing to evacuate and another fell off his roof
while trying to repair storm damage. Details of the other deaths were
not available.

The point at which Felix reached land sits just south of the
Nicaragan-Honduran border, an isolated area where thousands of
indigenous people live in wooden shacks, depend on canoes for
transportation and had no way out.

A few hours before the worst of the storm arrived, Nelson Allen, a
provincial governor in that part of Honduras, said he feared many of
those people would be lost.

''Unfortunately, it looks like anyone who did not get off the coast
cannot get out now, and we have heard that some of the wooden homes
have been blown down,'' Allen said.

Lotto, the Irish aid worker, said many residents of the area
traditionally seek shelter in a place they call Raak, which sits on
slightly higher ground that than the rest of the region.

''There, all they can do is dig trenches and cover themselves with
animal skins, tarps or palm fronds,'' Lotto said during a telephone
interview frequently interrupted by dropped connections.

''There could be as many as 2,000 people under cover like that in
Raak right now and we will not be able to know how they are until after
the storm passes,'' he said.

He and others said fuel supplies and food were dangerously short in
that area and electricity -- when it could be produced -- was being
rationed.

One place potentially at risk was Tegucigalpa, densely populated, poorly drained and built between mountains.

Said Alvarez, the mayor: ``We have declared a Red Alert. We have
about 300,000 people living in high risk zones in the capital.''