![]() By Sunday evening 63,500 people were reported to be in 379 shelters just in the northern coastal region. Such activity has focused attention on climate change, which scientists say is causing wetter, stronger and more destructive storms.Īll of Honduras was on high alert, with compulsory evacuations that began before the weekend. It’s also the ninth storm to rapidly intensify this season, a dangerous phenomenon that is happening increasingly more often. Iota is the record 30th named storm of this year’s extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. The hurricane center said Iota was centered about 20 miles (35 km) off Isla de Providencia, Colombia, and 145 miles southeast of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the Nicaragua-Honduras border, and moving westward at 10 mph. National Hurricane Center warned it would probably reach the Central America mainland late Monday. It was expected to pass over or near Colombia’s Providencia island during the night, and the U.S. Iota became a hurricane early Sunday and rapidly gained more power. Winds and rain were already being felt on the Nicaraguan coast Sunday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and hurricane researchers have said intense storms, as well as those that rapidly intensify, "a lot of that has to do with human-caused climate change.Evacuations were being conducted from low-lying areas in Nicaragua and Honduras near their shared border, which appeared to be Iota’s likely landfall. Central America has been particularly hit by intense tropical weather and droughts, which have been blamed on climate change. Scientists have said that climate change has caused more intense storms, including hurricanes. Since records began in 1851, this November is the first where two major hurricanes formed in the Atlantic basin. It is also the only Atlantic hurricane this year to reach Category 5 status, soon before it made landfall in Nicaragua. ![]() Iota is the 30th named storm in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season - the most of any season on record. There are still two weeks remaining in the Atlantic hurricane season. Iota is the strongest tropical system to form in November since the 1932 "Cuba" hurricane packed 175 mph winds. "Now they announce more rain and we don't know what's going to happen, because our homes are completely flooded." Climate change to blame "We're living a real nightmare," Rodriguez said. She sobbed as she contemplated another devastating hurricane. Hurricane Iota is expected to cause catastrophic damage to an area that was battered by another hurricane less than two weeks agoĬarmen Isabel Rodriguez told AP she was still living in a government shelter with more than 250 people in La Lima, Honduras. The NHC forecasts Iota to weaken rapidly as it moves further inland, and to be significantly more tame by Wednesday. Colonel John Fredy Sepulveda, the police chief of Providencia, said the local hospital had lost part of its roof and the territory of around 6,000 people was without power. However, the storm left one person dead after pummeling the Colombian Caribbean island territory of Providencia. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear. Its sustained wind speed fell from 250 kph on Monday night, down to around 165 kph, the NHC said, warning that it was still "extremely dangerous." Iota was later weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday, just hours after making landfall. The NHC said the rainfall "would lead to significant, life-threatening flash flooding and river flooding, along with mudslides in areas of higher terrain." Storm weakens, at least one dead Nearby El Salvador and Panama could also see significant rainfall up to 15 inches in some areas. The storm is expected to bring intense rainfall as well, with forecasts up to 30 inches (750 mm) in some spots, especially in northeastern Nicaragua and northern Honduras. High winds already hit the coastline prior to the storm's arrival. In an evening update, the NHC said the center of the storm was located about 30 miles (45 kilometers) south of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.
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