With a level of energy equal to that of the hurricane she was learning about, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Ms Emma Bonino, arrived in Central America this week and described the devastation as far worse than she had expected.
"I saw the pictures on television, but I needed to see it and smell it and feel it for myself," said Ms Bonino as she toured Tegucigalpa after spending a day in Nicaragua. "In Nicaragua the damage is more localised. In Honduras it is the entire country. It has been turned upside down."
Ms Bonino, a member of Italy's Radical Party, deals with about $1 billion in aid a year and an overseas office of 108 employees.
She said in an interview she was concerned about the long-term consequences for the region. "There is the danger of immediate disease here, yes, but I tell you what the most dangerous long-term illness is. The illness that is deadly is donor fatigue.
"There will be more disasters around the world, unfortunately. I am worried that the world and the media will forget about this place."
She added: "Humanitarian aid is not just food and drugs. Humanitarian aid is about rehabilitation of roads and bridges."
Ms Bonino said much of the damage and death caused by Hurricane Mitch could be attributed to poverty and a sub-standard infrastructure. Many of the poor live in homes that are below conventional building standards. These poorly constructed homes perched on hillsides were simply carried away by rivers of mud, with families inside.
"This disaster can be an opportunity to rethink development here," Ms Bonino said. Among her first goals was to prepare for meetings of the IMF and the World Bank due to take place early next month. Major decisions are expected, and Ms Bonino said she would urge the group to consider suspending Honduras's and Nicaragua's debts. "The debt is critical. We must start the dynamic of thinking what to do about it."
On Monday afternoon Ms Bonino spent 90 minutes with about 50 representatives of NGOs (non-governmental organisations).
"It was a very positive meeting," said Ms Sally O'Neill of Trocaire. "We talked about the difficulty of delivering aid, and Bonino said she would intervene with the Honduran authorities if we needed help."
The delivery of aid continues to be a challenge in the region, but some of those issues relate to politics as much as the natural disaster.
The California Community Foundation, for example, was finally able this week to negotiate a planeload of food and medical aid to Managua after a week of negotiations with the government about how the goods would be distributed and by whom.
Also, Nicaragua's right-wing, anti-Communist government refused a delegation of doctors and supplies from Cuba. None the less, Cuba has acted to forgive the country's debt.
Ms Bonino said such challenges were typical in delivering humanitarian aid. "The whole nature of humanitarian challenges has changed since the 1980s."
She added: "The scandal is that in many of the man-made disasters, humanitarian aid is not available because we don't have access. Dictators don't like witnesses.
"It frustrates me because there are so many violations of the Geneva Convention around the world, and there are no credible reactions from the international community."
Ms Bonino was heading for El Salvador and Guatemala yesterday, then back to Brussels by the weekend.