MEDIA REACTION ON HURRICANE WILMA AND OTHER

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 002210 SIPDIS FOR WHA/PD, IIP/T/ES, IIP/G/WHA, OES, AND WHA/CEN EMBASSIES FOR PAOS, IOS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP PREL PGOV SENV KPAO HO SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON HURRICANE WILMA AND OTHER PHENOMENA, OCTOBER 26, 2005 ¶1. On 09/03 the Tegucigalpa-based liberal daily "La Tribuna" published an editorial entitled "Nature Inflamed." "This has been one of the most active hurricane seasons in a long time. Wilma has not yet exhausted all her power with the destruction she has yielded against dozens of coastal communities of the Gulf of Mexico." "As if these disturbances weren't enough anguish, this time, other violent natural phenomena have also done their harm. The tsunamis and earthquakes that have hit various countries in the Asiatic region with brutal devastation have been cataclysmic, competing with the mortal destruction of Hurricane Mitch in Central America, that hit Honduras especially hard, a terrifying example of what nature can do when agitated." "The North Americans, whose Southern citizens have previously experienced the impact of powerful hurricanes, especially in the state of Florida, suffered the unprecedented this time with Katrina, with New Orleans completely submerged under water. The magnitude of the damage was so extensive it is presumed the rehabilitation will go slowly, but that the city that brought so much tourism from all over the world will again be what it once was." "The supernatural on this occasion has been the frequency of these disasters. The eyes of the world had not yet finished focusing on the tragedy at hand to find another tragedy in another party of the world, with more deaths, desolation, and destruction everywhere. There is an epidemic of calamities that had not allowed one to focus neither attention nor the assistance needed for a reasonable period, now that the an immediate sense of urgency is lent to other disasters." "Hurricane Stan was rude to Central America, it was unable to capture the attention of the global community, aside from Queen Sophia of Spain who also helped Honduras and the other countries most affected during hurricane Mitch. Thank God that Wilma barely touched our coasts, we would not have been able to withstand another fatality, the dimensions of Mitch that scattered death, pain, and destruction throughout Honduras and left the country like a broken puzzle, in hundreds of pieces." "Because of the experience that we lived and the response we received, we feel sometimes that signs of solidarity have been lukewarm between us and those who now suffer through similar tragedies." Williard