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Hurricane Eta quickly gained strength on Monday, turning into a major storm as it headed into Central America, threatening massive floods and landslides in a vulnerable region.
Eta had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was located east of the border between Nicaragua and Honduras, according to the National Hurricane Center.
He said the Category 4 hurricane will strengthen further before making landfall early Tuesday, likely in Nicaragua, where it could bring rainfall measured in feet rather than inches.
Forecasters said central and northern Nicaragua and much of Honduras could receive 15 to 25 inches of rain, with 35 inches in isolated areas. Heavy rains are also likely in eastern Guatemala, southern Belize, and Jamaica.
Storm surges of up to 15 feet above normal tides are possible off the coast of Nicaragua. The hurricane center also warned of life-threatening flash floods and landslides in areas with higher ground.
Hurricane #Eta Warning 9: Eta becomes a Category 4 hurricane as conditions begin to deteriorate on the northeast coast of Nicaragua. https://t.co/VqHn0u1vgc
– National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) November 2, 2020
The Nicaraguan Navy on Sunday evacuated the Miskito Keys of some 1,650 residents along the coast and prohibited the launching of boats along the stretch of coast that is expected to be hit by Eta.
Residents on the high seas were taken to shelters in Bilwi, also known as Puerto Cabezas, the main city in the Northern Caribbean Autonomous Region that is home to 66,000 people, according to Guillermo González, director of Nicaragua’s national emergency management agency.
Northeast Nicaragua is sparsely populated, home to small coastal villages and a large nature reserve.
González said 88 tons of rice, oil, corn and other staples had been sent to the area. The Rio Coco, which forms part of the border with Honduras, is home to many indigenous communities and is known to lead its banks in heavy tropical rains.
The Nicaraguan government has put the northern provinces on alert, as Eta is expected to move through the northern mountains of the country after disembarking.
Eta’s expected path through Central America as it dumped prodigious amounts of rain was already generating references to Hurricane Mitch, the 1998 storm that unleashed approximately 35 inches of rain during a slow walk through the region.
A report from the National Hurricane Center archive said that more than 9,000 people died during Mitch, one of the deadliest Atlantic storms in history.
At one point, its winds reached nearly 180 mph, though they weakened as it snaked off the Honduran coast before making landfall on October 29, 1998.
In Honduras, much of the country is on red alert for Eta.
Julissa Mercado, a spokeswoman for the national emergency management agency, said firefighters had begun cleaning up high-risk areas and mandatory evacuations would soon be ordered.
Eta nearly tripled in strength in just 24 hours, rapidly intensifying from a 40 mph storm Sunday morning to a 110 mph hurricane on the verge of becoming a major hurricane Monday morning. Forecasters warned it could bring life-threatening storm surges, catastrophic winds, flash floods, and landslides when it makes landfall.
It is the 28th Atlantic named storm this season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. This is the first time the Greek letter Eta is used as a name.
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