LATEST NEWS FROM OUR STAFF IN NICARAGUA
Tropical Storm Nate hit Nicaragua hard yesterday and served us the strongest Pacific-Coastal storm in more than forty years. Over twenty inches of rain fell in 24 hours, along with an 85 mph maximum wind speed. Our local community had many hillsides collapse and severe mud slides and flooding. Along Lake Nicaragua sink holes closed down the PanAmerican Highway, and here in San Juan del Sur every single vessel in the bay ended up either on the the beach or crushed against the beachfront restaurants under huge onshore winds and swells.
We are happy to report no damage was experienced on our farms and forests. In fact, rains like this are a welcome event for agriculture.
But this isn’t the case for our friends, neighbors, staff, and the community at large. As soon as we had determined that our operations were all in order, our entire staff were given the option of returning home or volunteering in the clean-up efforts. Every single person chose to volunteer.
Under the direction of Ken Ross, Hugo Rodriguez, and Aroldo Martinez, teams were formed and off they set to work alongside the local authorities. We loaded up our fleet of trucks, heavy equipment, ropes and chain saws and spent well into the night pulling trees off of homes, off of roadways, and out of ditches that needed to be kept clear so flood waters could pass.
We began again early this morning and things are starting to look a little better and the rains and wind are much less severe than yesterday. San Juan del Sur will require many months to get back to normal, but working together as the community did, anything is possible.
We are very proud of every member of our Precious Timber / Maderas Futuro staff who gave it their all to pitch in and help those in need. Tropical Storm Nate has not yet fully left the area and we intend to remain vigilant in our support of the community and our collective agricultural holdings.
Two crews have been set up to monitor all of our properties 24/7, and keep us informed of any necessary measures needed. The staff are tired, but they are relentless in their desire to serve (as are we), so we are once again this afternoon conducting additional local help and assistance.
We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and are working around the clock to keep you updated.
The Precious Timber Team.