CFEX-FM - X 92.9 Calgary, AB At the National Hurricane Centre in Miami, it was a day they'd never forget. Out in the Caribbean, a major storm system was building. It developed quite fast after it became a tropical storm. For several days, we monitored this cluster of thunderstorms and we knew it would be a threat somewhere in the Caribbean. In the capital city of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, people were oblivious to the gathering storm out to sea. It was hurricane season and they were used to it. (ELECTRIC CRACKLING) As it spun towards Honduras, sucking up vast amounts of water, the wind speed picked up. At mph, Mitch officially became a hurricane. It was picking up two billion tonnes of water vapour daily, which inevitably had to fall somewhere. On th October, it was business as usual in the capital. We were in direct contact with the forecast offices in Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize and Central America. The hurricane was so large, we knew it was going to affect with rain and strong winds all the north coast of Honduras, so warnings were out hours in advance. The next day, Hondurans began to prepare for the worst. Out at sea, the warm waters of the Caribbean fuel the cycle of evaporation and rain. By now Mitch had been rated a category five hurricane, the most lethal on the potential damage scale. In Tegucigalpa, Radio and thousands like him were on their way to work. By the evening of th October, Mitch had reached the north coast. The destructive power is in the very, very heavy rains, as circulation interacts with a very mountainous land mass here Honduras, and Nicaragua down here. It draws in moisture from the CFEX-FM - X 92.9 Calgary, AB Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, from both sides. The circulation is so large, it's very slow to spin down. Mitch was so big that while its centre covered the land, its spinning edges sucked up vast amounts of water vapour from the Pacific and Caribbean. It then poured it straight back down again onto the land. The real disaster is yet to come in terms of mudslides and the very great catastrophes that occur as a result of several feet of water being deposited over the mountainous terrain. The water racing down from the mountains was funnelled into the valleys at terrifying speeds, wiping out anything in its path. Residents watched in horror as friends were swept away, along with whole neighbourhoods. (CRIES OF PANIC AND DISTRESS) In the capital, Tegucigalpa, mudslides washed whole shantytowns into the river. One of those houses belonged to Radio. This is all that's left. (TRANSLATION) "You could hear people crying." People began to scream. It all happened so quickly. However much you wanted to take some kind of action, it was very difficult. CFEX-FM - X 92.9 Calgary, AB We were almost on the edge of the cliff. I think they died quickly. When the cliff collapsed, Pedro lost his entire family. By the st of October, Mitch had disintegrated and the remnants moved out into the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane is both a miracle of nature and a monster. When the meteorologist looks at it from afar, he admires it as a thing of beauty. Many people, even non meteorologists, would say it's spectacular.