Felix

[UTLgirl]

Actually Doc, that was an e-mail to my family & our booking office fairly early yesterday morning

Situation was looking much better last night, and even better this morning. Our concern now is for all those folks who were just evacuated to the mainland. There are folks trying to get out from SAP & LCE, and most likely not enough open seats on the planes.

 

[divergalinla]

My prayers for your safety are with all those in Felix's sights. My one week on Utila was a dream of a lifetime.

 

[marcoa]

Felix came and all I experienced was a light drizzle of rain. Preparations for him were taken serious and luckily that's all it was. Thanks for the prayers and kind words.

An uncle in San Pedro said they experienced hard showers for about an hour and that was the end of it. The concern now is with flooding of rivers still in Felix's path which lead back to the city. It was good to see the proactive approach taken by the Honduran government to evacuate and inform, at least around here.

Hopefully we'll be back to diving real soon. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Bay Island Diver]

We barely even got any rain. It was an excellent drill though. It gave me many ideas for where and what I will build when I get round to it!

 

[kchelton]

So Roatan was not affected by the hurricane? All we've seen on the news here is how it went right over the Bay Islands and that it was a huge Category 5 storm. I'm so glad to hear my beloved Roatan survived

Best wishes to all of you there!

 

[halocline]

So Roatan was not affected by the hurricane? All we've seen on the news here is how it went right over the Bay Islands and that it was a huge Category 5 storm. I'm so glad to hear my beloved Roatan survived

Best wishes to all of you there!

Exactly what news are you watching? And, ummm, how attentively are you watching it?

Edit; I just saw Will's post about CNN showing misleading footage of the storm in the Bay Islands, so please accept my apology for the above!

 

[MelC]

If anyone who was at FI is reading this post send me a note. I wanted to check that everyone else got evacuated and home safely.

Mel

 

[Doc]

. I wanted to check that everyone else got evacuated and home safely. Mel

Why would they? Huricane Felix completely missed the Bay Islands. Read the above posts. Like Will and UTLGirl said, it was a good drill.

:dancinglock: Somebody, please.

 

[UTLgirl]

Hi Doc,

They didn't have much choice. The Government ordered all tourists/visitors Sunday evening off the islands by Monday Noon ahead of flight/ferry cancellations. So everyone was 'evacuated' on Monday (hey... maybe they DID learn a lesson from Mitch)

Those that were able to get US flights Monday or early Tuesday went ahead & left for home. Those that were on flights for Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday, 'rode it out' & many have returned to the islands rather then continue on to the US.

I'm guessing Mel was one of those that got out of Honduras on Monday & is just wanting to see if everyone else got, stayed etc.

You gotta admit some of the news coverage with all the 'mis-pictures' made it look a lot worse then anything we really got.

I can vouch that Utila is 'officially' back open. How do I know.....Tranquilla & CoCo Loco were rocking the night away last night.

 

[Doc]

You gotta admit some of the news coverage with all the 'mis-pictures' made it look a lot worse then anything we really got.

And there's the old hand at Bay Islands storm survival ! She has seen it all.

My post above was because I'm aware (as she said) that many guests returned to Roatan to finish out their vacation week after the pre-emptive evacuation. No need for any future visitor to fret.

And I think your stating what you did is a great stamp of approval on the condition of the islands that are so dependant upon tourism.

Real damage that occurs to an island because of storm forces is a tough problem. Even worse though, are incorrect impressions caused by the media as you had mentioned above. The internet (and SCUBABoard) becomes a defacto part of that media.

Merely repeating a misimpression turns it into a solid reality.

I once had the distinct honor of diving after a Huricane with UTLGirl's husband. He not only has brass cojones but he & I learned how to appreciate the natural cleansing effect a storm surge has on a reef. It's a living, breathing organism. It is part of the process.

Right now, you'll have to pick somewhere other than the Bay Islands to see that rebirth and regrowth... it's still just business as usual.