Brown Bight

What a storm! Roatan has been hit with some kind of tropical storm. Yesterday morning, we woke to hard driving rain (which we knew had begun around midnight). At times the visibility from our deck was 0. At other times the rain was coming in horizontally. Our rain gauge measured 5.25 inches yesterday but probably missed all the horizontal rain. Everything on our big covered deck was drenched. The power was out all over the island. Ours was restored after about 4 hours, others were not so lucky.  No one went to school and many did not go to work. Three cruise ships came to the island and at least a couple of them were able to dock in Coxen Hole. Bob and Debi reported a good day at the Made in Roatan shop as tourists could do little else but shop.
         The above photo is of Gibson Bight as seen from our deck. It is brown due to all the run-off.

We had never seen the brown run-off extend so far out, even past the reef. You can see how the tree in the bottom right is still being blown by gale-force winds. These photos were taken after the rain stopped yesterday. The winds never stopped, and we had an additional half inch of rain last night. Looks like this storm will stick around all week.

We were sitting high and dry. Many people on the island were not so lucky. So many have lost their homes in the mud slides and fierce deluge of water flowing down the steep hills of the colonias. Many roads are closed due to mud slides, making it difficult to reach some of these families. Some homes along the beach have up to 3 feet of water in them. Embankments have given way, washing mud and debris inside buildings, including our church. The Toddler Ministry rooms are covered in mud as is the apartment next door. With the power out, they had no way to pump water and couldn't clean up.

Reports have trickled in from friends around the island. A children's center and some schools have been designated as evacuation centers for those families who have lost their homes. Those who were lucky enough to only have 3 feet of water in their homes have still lost what little they possessed.

The storm has not yet passed. There will be many more stories and much work to be done once it is over with many opportunities to help. Please be praying for these families.