Storm Iota leaves over 30 dead in Central America

San Salvador, Nov 19 (AFP/APP):Iota’s death toll rose to over 30 on Wednesday after the storm unleashed mudslides, smashed infrastructure and left thousands homeless in its wake across Central America, revisiting areas devastated by Hurricane Eta just two weeks ago.

Iota made landfall in Nicaragua as a “catastrophic” Category 5 hurricane Monday, but its remnants will continue to be deadly through Thursday even as 2020’s biggest Atlantic storm subsided over El Salvador.

The US National Hurricane Center warned of “life-threatening flash flooding” across portions of Central America, due to heavy rainfall from Iota’s tail.

“Flooding and mudslides across portions of Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala could be exacerbated by saturated soils in place, resulting in significant to potentially catastrophic impacts,” the NHC said.

Nicaragua has so far suffered the highest death toll from Iota. The giant hurricane slammed the country on Monday at its most powerful, leaving 18 dead, including two children who were trying to cross a river in the south, authorities said.

The bodies of three of the victims were recovered after a landslide in the northern department of Matagalpa, and three others died in floods in Carazo in the west.

Among 14 dead in Honduras were five members of the same family killed when their home was swept away in a landslide in El Trapiche.

Another two people died in the Colombian Caribbean archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, as well as one woman in the indigenous community of Ngabe Bugle in Panama, where about 2,000 people hunkered down in shelters even as rains began to ease.

After blowing through Honduras, where it weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour, it swept into El Salvador on Tuesday.

A motorcyclist died after a tree was blown over by the wind, the Salvadorian government said. More than 800 people were evacuated from risk areas and placed in 230 shelters.

Roberto Gonzalez, a meteorologist from El Salvador’s environment ministry, told AFP Iota had sustained winds of up to 40 mph (65 kph) as it moved towards the west of the country, and was expected to be downgraded to a “low pressure system” from Wednesday.

In San Salvador, presidential official Carolina Recinos said “prevention work” along with timely evacuations prevented the country suffering more victims.

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