As Hurricane Felix approached Nicaragua in early September, we received a flood of phone calls and emails

 

from concerned friends, family, and of course Nicaragua real estate owners. Major international media caused a bit of confusion, so in response we decided to explain Felix's affect on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, and about hurricanes and their potential affect on Nicaragua real estate.

In Spanish, the word for hurricane is "huracan", which comes from the Carib god of evil "Huracan", because the majority of hurricanes occur in the Caribbean Sea. More importantly, hurricanes form in the region between 5º and 20º north and south of the equator, with the highest percentage forming between 10º and 20º.

The majority of Nicaragua's Pacific coast real estate developments sit at approximately 11º north of the equator, meaning the likeliness of being hit by a hurricane is much lower than anywhere in the Caribbean or the Pacific coast of Mexico. We saw this proven again with hurricane Felix, as it headed towards Belize and ultimately made landfall close to the Nicaragua / Honduras border. Meanwhile, in San Juan del Sur, we were going about our day as usual under sunny skies. Tourists headed to the beaches and were partaking in other activities around town, and the only effect we had from hurricane Felix was some scattered rain showers.

Although Felix had virtually no effect on San Juan del Sur and the Tola beaches, the east coast did take a beating. Clean up and relief efforts are still underway, and a great amount of assistance is still desperately needed. If you have the means, we encourage you to please make tax-deductible contributions to:

Rotary Club of Pittsburgh Foundation

555 Grant Street Suite 328

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Email: pgrotary@choiceonemail.com

The Foundation will acknowledge contributions in excess of US $50.00, and please include a note stating Nicaragua Hurricane Relief / Water's Edge International Realty.