Eta lashes Nicaragua and Honduras
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Tropical Storm Eta drenched this nation and Honduras on Wednesday and set off deadly landslides that killed at least three people in Central America.
The storm had weakened from the Category 4 hurricane that battered the coast Tuesday, but itwas moving so slowly and dumping so much rain that much of Central America was on high alert. Eta still had sustained winds of 40 mph.
Eta is expected to make a turn over Central America and then reform in the Caribbean — possibly reaching Cuba on Sunday and southern Florida on Monday.
In Bilwi, the main coastal city in Nicaragua’s northeast, civil defense brigades worked to clear streets of downed trees, power lines and sheets of metal roofing. Some neighborhoods were flooded.
Vice President and first lady Rosario Murillo said more than 51,000 families remained without power in the affected areas.
“The debris teams are starting to work and we still can’t give a sense of what happened,” said Ivania Diaz, a local government official in Bilwi. “We have seen very humble homes completely destroyed.”
South of Bilwi, closer to where Eta cameashore Tuesday, the seaside Miskito community of Wawa Bar was devastated.
The military had evacuated the community before Eta hit, but what residents found Wednesday was distressing. Wind-twisted trees, shredded roofs and some structures damaged beyond recognition sat within view of the sea.
“There’s nothing standing here,” an unidentified resident told a local television station. “Wawa Bar is now a Miskito community where destruction reigns.”
Inland, the Prinzapolka river had risen more than 10 feet and threatened communities along its banks.
“We are watching the Prinzapolka because there could be risk of an overflow,” Murillo said in a news conference Wednesday.
Murillo said the government was preparing a damage report
that would be used to request international assistance.
Two gold miners were killed in a landslide Tuesday in Bonanza, about 100 miles west of where Eta made landfall, said Lt. Cesar Malespin of the Bonanza Fire Department.
In the northern province of Jinotega, communities were already flooded. Floodwaters took down a suspension bridge over the Wamblan river, and some 30 people were evacuated early Wednesday from Wiwili, according to local radio.
Northern Nicaragua is home to most of the country’s production of coffee, a critical export. Lila Sevilla, president of the National Alliance of Nicaraguan Coffee Producers, said theywere concerned about landslides that could affect coffee plants and block roads needed to bring the harvest to market.
“It’s still early to evaluate the impact of the rain, but we can expect damage to the road network in the northern towns,” Sevilla said.
The harvest hadn’t started yet, but extended rain could cause the coffee to mature too quickly and affect its quality, she said.