2 weeks, 2 hurricanes: Category four storm 'Iota' hits Nicaragua
A category four storm has made landfall in Nicaragua mere two weeks after another storm had hit. Hurricane Iota crossed the coast of the Central American nation on Monday evening, according to the United States National Hurricane Center (NHC). Just two weeks ago, the region had been devastated by Hurricane Eta, which had left 200 dead. Here are more details.
Iota became category five storm at sea, weakened after landfall
Iota had become a category five storm at sea, reaching maximum sustained winds of up to 160mph or 260km/h. It weakened to a category four as it made landfall in Nicaragua with neighboring Honduras also in its immediate path. The NHC said the storm remains "extremely dangerous" warning of "catastrophic winds, [a] life-threatening storm surge, and torrential rainfall" in Central America.
Iota has already killed 1 in Providencia Island
According to Agence France-Presse, the storm has already killed at least one person when it moved past the Colombian island of Providencia in the Caribbean, cutting off electricity. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández had earlier said, "What's drawing closer is a bomb." Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua have evacuated residents living in low-lying areas and near rivers in the Atlantic coastal region.
Iota strongest Atlantic hurricane of 2020
Iota is said to be the strongest Atlantic hurricane of the year 2020. It is also only the second-ever November hurricane to reach category five (the first was in 1932). Scientists say warmer seas and climate change are making hurricanes stronger and longer after landfall. Further, this year's Atlantic hurricane season marks the highest number of named storms—30 named storms and 13 hurricanes.
Amid flurry of storms, Greek alphabets used for names
After the arrival of the tropical storm Wilfred in the eastern Atlantic in October, meteorologists had to move on to naming storms by the Greek alphabet, which has not been necessary since 2005. Iota is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet.
'I haven't eaten. Don't know where to sleep'
Hurricane Eta had left Marisol Ingram's wooden home damaged. She told AFP, "With Hurricane Eta we didn't get out, but this one is more dangerous," fearing her home could be swept away. Prinsila Glaso, an 80-year-old Miskito woman, told AFP that "everything is destroyed" in her community south of Bilwi by Eta. "I haven't eaten. I don't know where I'm going to sleep here."
Two weeks ago, Eta made landfall near where Iota hit
Central America is still reeling under the effects of Hurricane Eta, which had made landfall on November 3. Eta had hit the coast just 15 miles North of where Iota hit. It had left at least 200 dead, with Guatemala's central Alta Verapaz being the worst-affected region. Mudslides had buried dozens of homes in the Quejá village and roughly 100 people are feared dead.
