Monday night -- new count, confirmed resolution
The new count:
The official death toll is still at 42, but the number of missing has been revised to 32.
More numbers:
Today's newspaper was estimating the task ahead, just in terms of clearing the three stream beds that empty into the bay of Funchal. The amount of stone and debris that have to be cleared is estimated to require 13,000 trips by big dumptrucks. The volume: 200,000 cubic meters. Assume a football field/pitch a 100 yds.(or 100 meters) long--there is a difference but we won't quibble here--and 50 yds/mts wide...pile up rocks for 130 ft (40m)--around 13 storeys high)--and that will give you an idea of the quantity of material they're talking about.
The confirmed resolution:
As with all the other businesses downtown, we will not be operating the consular services from our office for an indefinite period of time. My two colleagues and I will rely on cell phones and e-mail to "work together apart," each from our own home. As required and/or advisable, one of us will drop by to check on things and pick up any information needed for the current tasks, but getting to and from the center of town is not only complicated, but practically prohibited by the authorities.
Meanwhile phone calls and e-mails from all over continue to come in, with many offers of aid. We pray for wisdom in the use of any aid that comes our way, and in accordance with James 1:5 we must believe God will give us the wisdom we seek.
The official death toll is still at 42, but the number of missing has been revised to 32.
More numbers:
Today's newspaper was estimating the task ahead, just in terms of clearing the three stream beds that empty into the bay of Funchal. The amount of stone and debris that have to be cleared is estimated to require 13,000 trips by big dumptrucks. The volume: 200,000 cubic meters. Assume a football field/pitch a 100 yds.(or 100 meters) long--there is a difference but we won't quibble here--and 50 yds/mts wide...pile up rocks for 130 ft (40m)--around 13 storeys high)--and that will give you an idea of the quantity of material they're talking about.
The confirmed resolution:
As with all the other businesses downtown, we will not be operating the consular services from our office for an indefinite period of time. My two colleagues and I will rely on cell phones and e-mail to "work together apart," each from our own home. As required and/or advisable, one of us will drop by to check on things and pick up any information needed for the current tasks, but getting to and from the center of town is not only complicated, but practically prohibited by the authorities.
Meanwhile phone calls and e-mails from all over continue to come in, with many offers of aid. We pray for wisdom in the use of any aid that comes our way, and in accordance with James 1:5 we must believe God will give us the wisdom we seek.
posted by EP | 11:01 PM | Permalink
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