No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeCentral AmericaHard-hit Central America in crosshairs of another hurricane

Hard-hit Central America in crosshairs of another hurricane

Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua announced evacuations Friday as a second major storm in days closed in on Central America with the region still reeling from deadly Hurricane Eta.

Eta killed more than 200 people across Central America, with heavy rain bursting river banks and triggering landslides as far north as Chiapas, Mexico.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami now alerts that another major hurricane is approaching Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala, whose populations total more than 30 million.

The NHC forecasts Tropical Storm Iota to become a Category 2 or 3 hurricane as it moves into the same shell-shocked countries, hitting Nicaragua and Honduras by late Sunday or early Monday — less than two weeks after Eta hit.

Authorities in Honduras on Friday ordered the evacuation by police and the army of people in the area of San Pedro Sula — the country’s second city and industrial capital, located 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Tegucigalpa.

“Our red alert (in Honduras) orders mandatory evacuations,” Julissa Mercado of Honduras’ Emergency Response Agency told AFP.

The San Pedro Sula valley was hit hard by Eta, and about 40,000 people are still in shelters across the country.

In Nicaragua relief agencies began to evacuate some indigenous communities from the Coco River, on the border with Honduras, which could be affected by heavy rains and floods due to the storm.

“We are asking you to calmly prepare” for the hurricane that “threatens to cause floods and disasters,” Rose Cunnigham, the mayor of Waspam, on the border with Honduras, urged the community over a local radio station.

Waspam authorities on Friday sent boats to evacuate the community in Cabo Gracias a Dios, the cape where the Coco River flows into the Caribbean along the “Mosquito Coast”, and buses to transport people from the village of Bihmuna.

Guatemala’s disaster management agency CONRED meanwhile called on residents in the country’s most threatened areas in the north and northeast to voluntarily evacuate to shelters. It also recommended avoiding waterways and other risky areas.

“Our ground is already oversaturated,” said Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei.

“So it’s to be expected that we will have more farming and infrastructure damage,” he warned after meeting his Honduran counterpart, Juan Orlando Hernandez, in Guatemala City.

Eta hit the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm and was one of the strongest November storms ever recorded.

Warmer seas caused by climate change are making hurricanes stronger for longer after landfall, increasing the destruction they can wreak, scientists say.

Guatemala’s Giammattei on Friday accused industrialized nations of being responsible for the catastrophes caused by climate change that are ravaging the area.

“Central America is one of the regions where climate change is felt the most,” he told reporters.

The region is hit by “catastrophic floods, extreme droughts and the greatest poverty” but nonetheless receives “the least help on behalf of these industrialized nations”, he said.

This year’s hurricane season has seen a record 30 named tropical storms wreak havoc across the southeastern United States, the Caribbean and Central America.

The NHC was even forced to switch to the Greek alphabet after 2020’s storms exhausted its list of Latin names.

Trending Now

Costa Rica and U.S. Strengthen Border Scans and Biometric Cooperation

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem met Wednesday with Honduran President Xiomara Castro to discuss security and migration, following her offer in Costa...

Why Costa Rica Feels Like a Safe Haven for This Longtime Expat

If someone asked me to sum up why I live in Costa Rica in 5 words or less, my answer could well be: “It...

Costa Rica’s Eyelash Viper Snake Is One of the Most Beautiful

There are at least 141 different species of snakes in Costa Rica. With that large number of species packed into such a tiny nation,...

Costa Rica Surf Film Festival Honors ‘Pura Vida Bodysurfing’ with Top Audience Award

Pura Vida Bodysurfing is an award-winning short film that strips surfing back to its essence—riding waves without a surfboard. Filmed across Costa Rica’s legendary...

2025 Gold Cup: Honduras Advances After Dramatic Shootout, Mexico Ends Goal Drought

Honduras, with a surprising and dramatic penalty shootout victory over Panama, and Mexico, with a lackluster win against Saudi Arabia, advanced Saturday to the...

Costa Rica Hunts for Nicaraguan Hit Squad After Exile’s Assassination

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investigating whether a hit squad tied to Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime is targeting exiled critics on its soil....
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica