Mexico City, Nov. 5, (dpa/GNA) – Tropical storm Eta on Wednesday wreaked more havoc in Central America, with extensive damage reported in Nicaragua while Honduras declared a national emergency.
The hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm, but it continued to bring heavy rains.
“Eta winds decrease further but it continues to produce.
life-threatening flash flooding over portions of Central America,” the US National Hurricane Center said.
The hurricane made landfall in Nicaragua on Tuesday and also affected neighbouring Honduras, reportedly claiming three lives in the two countries.
Extensive damage was reported in Nicaragua, where Eta hit the port of Puerto Cabezas and numerous houses.
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez declared a national emergency and a nationwide red alert, saying the next hours would be “crucial.”
The centre of the storm was moving towards the west of Nicaragua, bringing with it winds of 75 kilometres per hour.
It was expected to reach Honduras by Thursday and to head out to the Caribbean Sea on Friday.
Eta was reported to have claimed the lives of two miners on Tuesday, after a landslide hit the mine where they were working in the Nicaraguan municipality of Bonanza.
A girl died after a wall in her home collapsed in Honduras.
The hurricane felled trees and electricity posts, tore off roofs and led to rivers flooding in northern Nicaragua.
About 16,000 households were left without electricity, according to daily La Prensa. Classes were suspended in more than 2,000 schools.
Some of the 30,000 Nicaraguans who had been evacuated meanwhile started leaving shelters in Puerto Cabezas to return home, news portal 100% Noticias reported.
Soldiers were removing trees and electricity posts that had blocked streets.
In Honduras, Eta sparked flooding and landslides, damaging dozens of houses, roads and fields.
More than 2,000 people were evacuated in the east of the country, while Tegucigalpa’s Toncontin airport announced the cancellation of flights scheduled for Wednesday.
Dozens of localities remained cut off.
“Even if the phenomenon has been downgraded, it remains a threat to our country,” Honduras’ Permanent Contingency Commission (COPECO) tweeted.
Flooding and fallen trees were reported also in El Salvador, where some 200 people were evacuated.
Central America is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters due to its generally poor infrastructure.
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed at least 9,000 people across the entire region, while about the same number were reported as missing.
GNA