Category 4 Hurricane Eta Makes Landfall in Nicaragua, with Dangerous Floods Expected
Hurricane Eta has made landfall in northern Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm, with life-threatening flood from rainfall predicted for much of Central America, according to a report from Weather Underground.
Eta’s eye arrived along the coast of Nicaragua about 15 miles south-southwest of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, around 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday bringing maximum sustained winds of an estimated 140 mph, said the report.
A storm surge inundation of 14 to 21 feet above normal tide levels was predicted, said Weather Underground, quoting the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Roofs were ripped off homes, trees were uprooted, bridges were washed out, landslides have occurred, and roads were flooded in Nicaragua and Honduras, said Weather Underground.
The storm is expected to lose intensity over the mountainous terrain of Nicaragua and Honduras as it moves farther inland Wednesday into Thursday, but the NHC said heavy rainfall could cause catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding, river flooding and landslides in parts of Central America.
Eta or its remnants will track slowly across Central America through Thursday. Weather Underground said its long-term forecast beyond that time is uncertain.
Eta is the 28th storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, which ties the 2005 season for the most storms on record. It’s also the 12th hurricane of the season, which ties for the second-most on record for a year in the Atlantic.
Weather Underground noted that Eta was the fifth Category 4 or stronger hurricane on record to make landfall in Nicaragua and the first since Category 5 Hurricane Felix in 2007.