Rainy Season Begins

Day suddenly becomes night as the thick black clouds envelope the city and the rumbling thunder breaks into an ear-shattering crash. The wind begins to gather force and, almost without warning, the rain starts to pound down hard on the frail roof of the restaurant, blowing in from all sides, soaking us within seconds, as we scramble for our things, shrieking loudly, running down the stairs and under cover.

A ray of lightning collides against the earth a few meters away, shaking the building in its wrath and the restaurant falls into darkness as the electricity short circuits across the neighbourhood. The unrelenting force of the storm is deafening and it is hard to maintain our conversation as we sit in the semi darkness that has descended upon us at midday.

The claps and flashes begin to pass over the city and away and we order the bill and walk towards the car, the gushing water flooding towards the over spilling drains and the fallen debris scattered about the street. Our driver has the radio on and we find out that one of the walls of the national stadium nearby has collapsed with full force on top of a taxi stand, killing one driver instantly and wounding several others.

Winds of up to 60k an hour teamed with violent thunder and an electric force in all its glory hit the stadium without pity and the wall disintegrated into a fountain of dust and brick. Trees, rocks and branches have fallen all over the city and many areas have been left without power.

My heart fills with trepidation as I think of all the desperately poor people in their fragile houses, one atop of another, so vulnerable to mudslides with their weak foundations and precarious structures. The rainy season has begun in full force and this city is extremely exposed.

Tegucigalpa, "city of the mines" is (if you listen to the most pessimistic accounts) on the point of collapse. The current capital developed due the precious stones that were abundant in this area, and the huge potential of the mineral industry. People flocked here from across the country to work the mines and the city expanded at an unimaginable pace, sprawling out across the hills. Construction upon construction of dilapidated and badly put together dwellings place ever more weight upon a fragile surface above underground rivers, caves, and mines, providing a horrifyingly weak base.

It was only recently recognized that this city also lies on top of a hotbed of seismic activity, that’s small but regular shocks are evidenced in the zigzagging cracks in the streets that run in the same direction.

According to some, it is literally a question of time before Tegucigalpa crumbles into the ground, as the fragile earth cannot take the weight of the buildings, the rain, the traffic and the people. Weak at its very foundation; a honeycomb of hollow earth beneath, the roads regularly bubble up into holes and even collapse completely, and houses slide down the hills towards the river.

I pray that today's battering won't leave too many scars, but there is little hope of things getting better before they get worse as hurricane season begins. Why is it always those who have the least that have to lose the most?

Christina Comben