Two Hurricanes Drench Central America in Two Weeks

two hurricanes drench central america

TWO HURRICANES DRENCH CENTRAL AMERICA. Two hurricanes followed almost the same path on November 3-5 and 16-17. Both made Category 4-force landfalls within 15 miles of each other in northeast Nicaragua. As the 28th and 30th named storms this season, they made 2020 the busiest storm year in history. And both of them were among the top three most intense November Atlantic storms on record.

First, Eta flooded homes in all seven Central American countries from Panama to Guatemala. It buried dozens of homes in landslides in Guatemala and Honduras. Even on the fringe of the storm, Belize saw floods rise over bridges and submerge electrical lines, homes and businesses.

Then Eta turned back east into the Caribbean Sea, and then northward. It dumped heavy rains causing flash-flooding in Cuba, Florida and the US east coast as far as Virginia.

In all, Eta killed at least 189 and left more than 100 still missing. Central America had barely begun to dry itself off when Hurricane Iota struck. No other hurricane had ever hit Nicaragua harder.

In Puerto Cabezas, it tore the roof off a makeshift hospital that had replaced an earlier hospital. Then evacuees had to seek shelter in a city that had lost much of its power and water service. So did dozens of other communities.

Torrential rains poured down on already waterlogged soil, causing more landslides. One in Macizo de Penas Blancas buried at least 30 people.

Floods over floods

In Honduras, more than 100,000 were still isolated by Eta’s floods when Iota struck. Floods over floods so weakened foundations that even concrete buildings collapsed and turned to rubble. Disaster experts reported that Iota affected 366,123 people in Nicaragua alone.

So far, Iota has added 46 dead and 42 missing to Eta’s victim list. And its long-term effects will be far greater. It has so ruined roads and infrastructure that Oxfam had to suspend relief operations.

But already Oxfam says that “Iota will have a devastating impact on areas already hit by hunger, drought, COVID-19 and the calamity visited earlier from Eta. Millions of people have already lost everything they had.”

The Christian organization World Vision also stands ready in the region with rapid response teams. It says, “We have propositioned materials ready for distribution, including food, clean water, mattresses and blankets.” Let us pray that they get to the maximum number of people in the shortest possible time.

How to donate to World Vision: see 2020 Hurricane Iota: Facts, FAQs, and how to help