Tropical
Storm Nate has killed at least 22 people in Central America with torrential
rains that forced thousands from their homes, uprooted trees, knocked out bridges
and
turned roads into rivers, officials said Thursday.
Forecasters
predicted it will strengthen into a hurricane headed for Mexico and the United
States.
The country
hardest hit by the storm that began Wednesday was Nicaragua, with 11 dead and
seven missing, Vice President Rosario Murillo told state media.
Officials in
Costa Rica said eight people died including a three-year-old girl after they
were hit by falling trees and mudslides, and two young Nicaraguan farm workers.
At least 17 people were missing.
Costa Rica
declared a national emergency as it struggled with mudslides, washed out roads
and overflowing rivers.
Schools,
universities, government offices and banks across the Central American nation
were closed.
Three other
people were killed in Honduras.
Nicaragua’s
Murillo added that 800 people had been evacuated, nearly 600 homes were flooded
and 14 communities were isolated because of rains that had been falling for
days.
More than
5,000 people were being put up in shelters in Costa Rica after having to
abandon their homes because of flooding and the risk of unstable ground giving
way, the director of the National Emergency Commission, Ivan Brenes, said.
At least 18
main roads were closed and another dozen were only partially open. In Costa
Rica’s northwest Guanacaste region popular with tourists many roads were so
flooded as to be impassable to all but four-wheel-drive vehicles and horses.
– Forming
into a hurricane –
As of
Thursday night Nate was moving northwest along the east coast of Honduras and
was expected to reach hurricane strength when it reaches the central Gulf of
Mexico some time late Friday or early Saturday.
Storm or
hurricane watches have been issued from Louisiana east through Mississippi and
Alabama, the US National Hurricane Center said in a bulletin at 0300 GMT.
Some
offshore oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico were being evacuated ahead of
the storm, the US government Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
said in a statement.
The United
States is recovering from two major hurricanes: Hurricane Harvey that tore
through Texas in August, and Hurricane Irma in September.
Another
powerful storm, Hurricane Maria, ripped through the Caribbean in late
September, wreaking destruction on several islands, including Dominica and
Puerto Rico.
– Crocodile
alert –
In Costa
Rica, an alert was issued for people to be wary of crocodiles that might be
roaming after rivers and estuaries flooded.
Concerned
football officials were monitoring the situation and postponed a World Cup
qualifying match between Costa Rica and Honduras from Friday to Saturday.
Costa Rica’s
main international airport was open, but with multiple flight cancellations and
delays.
The annual
rainy season is currently underway in Central America, a five-month period
typically ending in November in which the risk of flooding and mudslides rise.
This year’s
has been intense, with some areas in the region getting up to 50 percent more
rain than average for September and October.
AFP
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