Nate takes aim at Mexico after dousing region
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Tropical Storm Nate gained force as it sped toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday after drenching Central America in rain that was blamed for at least 21 deaths. Forecasters said it was likely to reach the U.S. Gulf Coast as a hurricane over the weekend.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned that Nate could raise sea levels by 4 to 7 feet from Morgan City, La., to the Alabama-Florida border. It had already had caused deadly flooding in much of Central America.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph by Friday morning and was likely to strengthen over the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Friday before a possible strike on the Cancun region at the tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula at near-hurricane strength.
Dozens of offshore oil and gas platforms and drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have been evacuated. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a news release that workers had been evacuated from 66 production platforms as of late Friday morning. That’s nearly 9 percent of the 737 manned platforms in the Gulf.
In Nicaragua, Nate’s arrival followed two weeks of nearconstant 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 spokeswoman, Rosario Murillo, said that at least 11 people had died in that country due to the storm. Earlier Thursday she had said 15 people had died before later revising to say some of those were still counted as missing. She didn’t give details on all the deaths, but said two women and a man who worked for the Health Ministry were swept away by a flooded canal in the central municipality of Juigalpa.
Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Organism blamed seven deaths in that country on the storm and said 15 people were missing. Flooding drove 5,000 residents into emergency shelters.
In Honduras, there were three dead and three missing, according to Oscar Triminio, spokesman for the country’s firefighters.
Damage caused by the storm prompted Costa Rican officials to postpone a World Cup qualifying soccer match between that country and Honduras, which had been scheduled for Friday night.