We initially had hoped power would be restored within 24 hours as has been the case with previous outages. However, it quickly became clear that the severity of the damage in Morazán and the region as a whole meant that we would be without power for a while. We had to wait our turn.

And right as the debris clean up was finishing up we learned it wouldn’t just be power that we were without…

​Our gravity-powered water tanks that previously had lasted as long as 3 days ran dry within the 1st 24 hours. Turns out full occupancy is a double-edged sword.

Without water & power, almost everyone that could leave did–myself included. However, a brave few *chose* to stay, including Morazán’s property manager, chief of police, and maintenance team who worked almost 24/7 to help the community through this tough time.

The heroes of Morazán restored water by getting a water truck to refill the gravity-powered tanks, sourced a generator to create a free pop-up charging station for residents, and relentlessly followed up with the public utility company to get power restored.

On Thursday morning, the cavalry arrived, and they arrived in force. Over five trucks and more than two dozen hard-working men from ENEE were sent to help with the repair.

Fueled by the Angus beef, tacos and Coca-Cola the Morazán community gave them, the workers were able to work an incredible 15+ hours and finish the repair early Friday morning!

Which reminds me, I have work in a few hours so I’m off to bed. I look forward to discussing the outage, Morazán’s fantastic response, and the lessons learned from all this with you all.

When all was said and done, what mattered wasn’t the hardship of being without electricity and running water for a few days but the way the community came together to help each other. We ended up battered but unbowed.