Hurricane Eta slams Central America, causes deadly mudslides, strands fishermen

MANAGUA, (Reuters) - Hurricane Eta ripped roofs from homes, unleashed major flooding and caused landslides as it battered the coastline of Nicaragua and neighboring Honduras yesterday, reportedly killing at least three people and putting dozens of fishermen in peril.

Eta, one of the most powerful storms to hit Central America in years, plowed into Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step SaffirSimpson scale, battering roads and bridges in Honduras. Hundreds of people were evacuated.

Barreling ashore south of the port of Puerto Cabezas, Eta was expected to cause "catastrophic" wind damage as the eye of the storm moved inland along the northeastern coast of Nicaragua, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

When it struck the coast, Eta was blowing potentially devastating winds of 140 miles per hour (225 kph) the NHC said. The storm should weaken rapidly as it advances inland, it added.

By 9 p.m. local time, Eta was a Category 2 storm blowing winds of 105 mph (169 kph). It was churing through Nicaragua about 45 miles (70 km) west-southwest of Puerto Cabezas, moving westward at 6 mph (9 kph), the NHC said.

Nicaraguan media reported that two artisanal miners were killed by a mudslide. In Honduras, a 13-year-old girl died in a landslide on her home, the fire department said.

Meanwhile, about 60 fishermen were trapped and in danger in the eastern Mosquitia region of Honduras, according to Robin Morales, a representative of the local population.

The fishermen "remain adrift at sea shouting for help", Morales said, adding that a Honduran Navy official told him it was currently too dangerous to mount a rescue operation.

"If they aren't rescued, I don't think these people will remain alive for more than 24 hours," Morales said.