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The Geographical Review October 1998, Vol. 88 (4), pp. 571-579 HONDURAS: WHEN THE SAINTS ARRIVE RICHARD SYMANSKI ABSTRACT: Hurricane Mitch, the most deadly hurricane to strike the Western Hemisphere in two centuries, killed at least 10,000 people in Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador and left tens of thousands homeless. Some needed food, others medical attention. Americans, Europeans, Mexicans, and others almost immediately responded to the widespread devastation by sending large donations of food, clothing, and medicine. Six weeks after Mitch struck the Honduran mainland, the author traveled to Honduras with the aim of photographing the physical damage and its effect on humans. In San Pedro Sula he was sidetracked by the issue of where refugees were being housed and whether they were receiving the donations that had been sent on their behalf. This essay narrates that search and what he found. Keywords: Honduras, Hurricane Mitch, relief donations, San Pedro Sula DR. SYMANSKI is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Irvine, California 92717.