Nicaragua: Category 4 Hurricane Eta Made Landfall in Puerto Cabezas

Hurricane Eta made landfall in Puerto Cabeza in Nicaragua with sustained winds of up to 150 miles per hour on Tuesday, while threatening to reach Honduras and other Central American and Caribbean countries.

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The Hurricane experienced a rapid intensification and reached maximum sustained winds of 134 miles per hour. In the next 12 to 24 hours, it is expected to move in a similar direction and decrease its translation speed.

Eta will lose force once it enters the mountainous area in the northern parts of the country, and it will reduce its winds until it turns again into a tropical storm and then into a depression.

Meanwhile, over 20,000 people have been evacuated and no casualties have been reported so far. 

Prior to the impact of Hurricane Eta, Nicaraguan authorities declared a red alert on the Northern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, which is home to over 500,000 people, while also issuing a yellow alert or watch for the departments of Jinotega, Nueva Segovia, and Chinandega.

The rest of the country is placed under a green notification that calls on the population to be alert to a possible catastrophe.

National System for the Prevention, Mitigation and Attention to Disasters Authorities noted that rescue units had been prepared to respond to possible emergencies, which include assessing damages and needs and providing shelter to the population.

Meanwhile, hundreds of shelters were activated in Puerto Cabezas which borders Honduras. There have been 28 named tropical storms so far this year, of which 11 have been hurricanes. The hurricane season officially ends on November 30th.