Honduras and Nicaragua Prepare for Storm Iota, Make Ready Evacuation Centers

Honduras is now preparing its evacuation centers and is clearing up its coastal areas as a second hurricane is forecasted to hit Central America in the coming weeks.

Storm Iota

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Iota is expected to strengthen to a major hurricane as soon as it hits Honduras and Nicaragua on November 15.

Experts warn of 120mph or 193 kilometers per hour torrential rain and rising sea levels. The region is still suffering from Hurricane Eta's devastating effects, which has now killed at least 200 people earlier this month.

Also Read: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Says Christmas Is in Jeopardy if People Won't Stop Gathering

The worst-hit area was Guatemala's central Alta Verapaz region. According to The Guardian, mudslides buried dozens of homes in the village of Queja, where around 100 people are now feared dead. About 50 deaths were reported elsewhere in the country.

The U.S National Hurricane Center or NHC warned that there could be more flooding and mudslides in Nicaragua and Honduras on top of Hurricane Eta's recent effects in the region.

Parts of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, Panama, El Salvador, and Colombia have been warned to prepare for flash floods and river flooding and that the effects can be life-threatening. The coastal areas of Jamaica and Hispaniola may also see life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

The authorities in Honduras ordered the evacuation of people in the area of San Pedro Sula, the country's second city and industrial capital, on November 13. Julissa Mercado of the Emergency Response Agency of Honduras said that their red alert orders mandatory evacuations.

Meanwhile, Guatemala's disaster officials have urged the residents to evacuate to shelters in parts of the north voluntarily. President Alejandro Giammattei said that their ground is already saturated, so it is to be expected that they have more farming and infrastructure damage.

Tropical storm Iota will be the 30th storm in 2020 to wreak havoc across the Caribbean, Central America, and the south-eastern U.S. It is a record for the region's hurricane season.

President Giammattei also blamed the increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes on climate change and had accused industrialized nations of being responsible.

After President Giammattei met with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez in Guatemala City, he told reporters that Central America is one of the regions where climate change is felt the most.

The whole region is hit by catastrophic floods, extreme droughts, and poverty but gets the least help on behalf of the industrialized nations.

Hurricane Eta

Just last week, Eta made landfall in Guatemala and has a confirmed death toll of 46 people, and 96 people are reported missing, according to VOA News.

On November 11, Guatemala requested that the United States allow Guatemalans in the country to remain on U.S grounds for the meantime as it is still dangerous to go back to the region due to the effects of the hurricane, according to CNN.

Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo wrote in a letter that the Guatemalan government reiterates the necessity that Guatemalans, who are in the United States right now, be allowed to remain and will not be deported under this temporary protection program.

Brolo handed U.S. Ambassador William Popp the official correspondence in which President Giammattei requested a temporary protected status or TPS for Guatemalans.