Hurricane Karl

Alright, alright. I can only imagine the comments made by my friends who haven't heard hide nor hair of me for – well months. Add to that the hurricane that hit our area, and I know I have a few concerned friends.

Firstly, we are totally fine. Other than a little water that came in our patio windows on the upper floor, a couple of branches that broke on our avocado tree in our yard and losing power (and water) for 36 hours, we were barely affected by the storm. I think I was a bit naïve about the storm. I really didn't get worried or scared. About the time when the storm seemed to be getting really strong and I was starting to worry, it faded and ended. So I really didn't realize the impact of the storm until later. Our client's houses at the beach also had water in their houses, and little bit of minor damage (light went missing, broken corner of a palapa roof, some paint chipped off, etc.) they also came out fine. We were relieved and happy to know that the preventative measures we implemented in the construction of the houses did what they were supposed to do – protect the houses. All our houses have thick – hurricane proof glass. While all our homes have a lot of patio windows and glass – not one broke, while the teacher center next door to us and further back from the ocean had several broken windows. The retaining wall we built to both create a foundation ( you know the song 'The wise man built his house upon the rock….') protected the houses from being 'washed away'.

The same cannot be said for others though. Many of our neighbors on the beach who had ramshackle palapa (refers to a palm leaf roof top structure with usually wood or bamboo posts) restaurants or buildings made of tin sheeting didn't have much left after the storm. We knew many who were cleaning out their home for days after the storm as many homes have a tin sheet roof, which flew away during the storm, then soaking their possessions.

The very worst of the storm was the flooding that occurred the next day. Many people expected some flooding from the storm, so after the storm when the river didn't rise too much many people relaxed. Unfortunately, the storm dumped a whole lot more rain further inland, feeding the same rivers that then overflowed its banks the following day – and within 10 minutes the river overflowed and destroyed 200 homes, and filled many others right to the roof, taking people still trying to drive away in their cars down in the river. A mother was found dead still holding the bodies of her two young children in each arm. I don't want to imagine how that mother must of felt. My heart aches to think about it.

I spent the week after the storm in emergency relief efforts through my church. First we went out as families searching all the members of our congregation who we had not yet been able to contact (phones were down too) and bringing food and water to those who needed it. As it turned out, one of our families were living in the area that was flooded. So, for the next two days, 40 men and youth from Veracruz City came out to our area to help shovel all the mud out of the houses. They had to remove everything. Every mattress, appliance, toys, clothing, everything was filled with mud. Let me tell you – mattresses are VERY heavy when they are full of mud. In one photo here you can see the dirty line where the water level was nearly at the ceiling.

It was really unbelievable. The ladies prepared food and flavored water and I converted our blazer into a portable kitchen delivering the food to the various crews of men working in areas around the city as well as any others who were hungry. Then Saturday, 7 bus loads of youth and men came from all over the area to do the same – to help whoever needed it to remove the furniture, mattresses or just clean out their homes. It was an endearing site – so many people willing to donate their time, resources and get down and dirty in the mud to help so many people.

One of the most important lessons I learned from this is the urgency for our emergency kit. We had one in Canada, and had some food storage, but gave a lot away or put it in storage when we moved to Mexico. I am truly grateful that I didn't need to grab a 72-hour kit and run, but many of those people did – and I became acutely aware that we need to be prepared. Bill just arrived for a visit, and with him brought much of our previous emergency kit with him so that we can once again have one ready – just in case. The interesting thing is that our Stake R.S. Presidency had just challenged all the Ward R.S. Presidencies to bring our 72 hour kits to our last training the first week of September, so I actually had a partial one in place.

The most important items in the immediate days after the flood were candles and water. Bottled water flew off the shelves right after the storm (if you found a place open to sell it to you) – then days for the replacement water to arrive. If it had been a worse storm – it could have been worse for many people, especially those with young children. The other interesting thing that went off the shelves was bread. We couldn't buy bread for about 5 days after the storm. The only reason that was important for us personally was that we were off running everyday helping, so I need to make sandwiches for food – but we did without.

In many ways things have returned to normal - though there are still many without homes. food, clothing and other supplies arrive regularily for people, so other than the repair of homes or construction of new ones, most have been able to start over again. Some people/companies took advantage of the situation by severely raising the prices of necesities, while other companies, churches, communities began arriving by Tuesday with food - both cooked and care packages - clothing, blankets, etc . The government moved surprisingly quickly as well. Dump trucks and loaders were out in force as early as Monday after the storm clearing the mud out of the roads so that people could get back to their homes. Before the roads were cleared, your feet would sink in the mud to your knees, and you would definitely lose your shoes if they weren't strapped on very tight.

This was our second disaster we have lived through. The first was the ice storm in Quebec at the beginning of 1998 right after we arrived from our honeymoon. We were actually returning from the airport after picking up our pets when the storm started and drove home in the ice. Are we blessed that in both situations we were hardly affected or somehow cursed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Maybe a little of both - or maybe I have something to learn from each situation of the times to come......