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TEGUCIGALPA,Honduras-Hurricane Felix spared much of Central America, but residents of the poor coastal communities of Nicaragua,where the storm struck land at full force, picked through the wreckage of their wooden huts on Wednesday and lamented losing the little they had.The Nicaraguan government’s estimates of the death toll varied Wednesday, with one official saying at least 18 people had died since the storm hit Tuesday and another saying the figure was at least 38, according to wire services. Scores more were missing, the wire services said.Aid began arriving by the planeload in Puerto Cabezas, the regional capital, because the remote jungle region that was hardest hit was largely impassable by road. Honduras, which had relatively little damage, sent a military cargo plane to help Nicaragua.The storm lost much of its strength on Wednesday.Aid workers pointed out that the indigenous people who suffered the most damage are descendants of Indians, Europeans and Africans known as the Miskitos and are among the poorest people in the region.“The Miskito communities in the path of this hurricane have long been below the radar of the national government and will be further isolated by the damages of this storm,” said Vivian Stromberg, executive director of Madre, an international women’s rights group that has financed projects in the region.As in the days of Noah...
