Evacuations of coastal areas of Honduras are under way as a second hurricane in as many weeks is forecast to hit Central America.
Forecasters say Tropical Storm Iota is expected to strengthen to a "major hurricane" when it hits Honduras and Nicaragua on Sunday.
They warn of 120mph (193km/h) winds, torrential rain and rising sea levels
The region is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Eta which killed at least 200 people earlier this month.
Tropical Storm Iota is expected to make landfall along the Yucatan Peninsula as a hurricane as it strengthens over the next few days, forecasters said Saturday.
ReplyDeleteThe storm developed Friday afternoon in the central Caribbean just hours after the system became Tropical Depression 31.
Iota will reach Category 1 hurricane status when its winds reach at least 74 mph. It would become the 13th hurricane of the season -- two shy of the record number of hurricanes to churn in the Atlantic in one season held by 2005.
DeleteThis is the first time the NHC has ever gotten this far into the Greek alphabet during a tropical season.
DeleteHurricane Iota is rapidly gathering strength as it barrels towards Central America, threatening to bring “life-threatening” storm surges and “catastrophic” winds to a region still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Eta.
ReplyDeleteAs of 10am EST (15:00 GMT), Hurricane Iota was about 335 miles (539 km) off the Nicaraguan-Honduran coast, packing maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour (145 km/h), according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
“Iota is forecast to be an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane when it approaches Central America,” the NHC warned.
DeleteHurricane Iota is expected to make landfall by late Monday.
Iota exploded into a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane on Monday and bore down on a remote Central American coastal region already reeling from another major storm, with efforts to evacuate villagers hampered by shortages of fuel for boats.
DeleteIota was due to collide with northeastern Nicaragua overnight and was packing maximum sustained winds of 160 miles (260 km) per hour, reaching category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.