6. San Pedro Sula

Tegucigalpa may be the politically recognized capital city of Honduras, yet Hondurans commonly view San Pedro Sula as the country’s industrial capital. Once Hurricane Mitch hit this industrial city, its Municipal Corporation of San Pedro Sula took immediate action and preventive measures by warning citizens to look for refuge in safe places; the corporation facilitated this safety precaution by providing 250 shelters for protect people from high-risk areas. Numerous other organizations helped the endangered citizens; among these groups are the cleaning unit of the Environmental Offices, the fire department, the laborers of the Municipal Board of Water, the Municipal Emergency Committee (CODEM), and the National Electric Company. These groups helped service the at-risk citizens by helping rehabilitate people, transfer supplies such as food and water, and remove fallen trees that blocked the river channels. These congenial efforts helped give almost immediate solutions during some of the most crucial moments of Hurricane Mitch’s activity in San Pedro Sula, not to mention preventing the city from losing any of its bridges like Tegucigalpa had (“Municipalidad de San Pedro Sula”). The picture to the right shows several men helping erect a shelter for hurricane victims.