Tropical storm Nate blamed for 17 deaths; threatens U.S. coast

MANAGUA, NICARAGUA — Newly formed tropical storm Nate was blamed Thursday for at least 17 deaths across Central America as it dumped rain across the region on a path that would carry it toward a potential landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast as a hurricane over the weekend.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm could cause dangerous flooding by dumping as much as 38 to 50 centimetres of rain on Nicaragua.

It had maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h at midday Thursday and was likely to strengthen over the northwestern Caribbean Sea Thursday night and Friday before a possible strike on the Cancun region at the tip of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

In Nicaragua, Nate’s arrival followed two weeks of near-constant rain that had left the ground saturated and rivers swollen. Authorities placed the whole country on alert and warned of flooding and landslides.

Nicaragua’s vice-president and spokesperson, Rosario Murillo, said that at least 15 people had died in that country due to the storm. Costa Rica’s President Luis Guillermo Solis blamed two deaths in that country on the storm. Flooding drove 5,000 residents into emergency shelters.

In Louisiana, officials ordered the evacuation of part of coastal St. Bernard Parish east of New Orleans ahead of the storm. Earlier Thursday, a voluntary evacuation was called in the barrier island town of Grand Isle.

The forecast track showed the storm could hit the U.S. Gulf Coast as a hurricane by Sunday morning. Forecasters said hurricane conditions were possible in Mexico Friday night.