Hurricane Julia brings severe rains to Nicaragua: After battering Colombia’s San Andres Island on Sunday, Hurricane Julia made landfall on Nicaragua’s central Caribbean coast. A weaker storm forecast to develop over the Pacific.
Early on Sunday, Julia made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane with top sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph), yet as it moved into Nicaragua with heavy rainfall. Its speeds dropped to 75 mph (120 kph).
Julia situated about 190 kilometers (115 miles) east of Managua, the country’s capital. And was heading west at 16 mph, according to the US National Hurricane Center (26 kph).
According to the forecast, Central America and southern Mexico may see life-threatening flash floods and mudslides through Tuesday. In some places, the storm could drop as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain.
Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, issued a “highest warning” as the hurricane neared San Andres Island, located east of Nicaragua, and Providencia Island, situated to the north. Petro also requested hotels to provide accommodations for vulnerable people.
A curfew enforce by authorities in San Andrés to reduce crowding on the streets. As a result, there were no more flights to the islands.
Early accounts of Julia’s effect on San Andres were lacking.
Authorities in Nicaragua warned all kinds of ships to seek safe shelter.
According to Guillermo González, head of Nicaragua’s disaster response system, residents in coastal districts in great danger had already evacuated by Saturday midday. According to the army, it sent assistance to Bluefields and Laguna de Perlas to distribute food to 118 makeshift shelters.
But on Saturday night in Bluefields, life seemed to have hardly altered. And residents said they were reluctant to leave their houses.
In a region already soaked by weeks of torrential rain, the storm was predicted to move over Nicaragua before emerging over the Pacific and skirting the beaches of El Salvador and Guatemala.
Since early May, storms in Guatemala have been responsible for at least 49 verified fatalities and six unaccounted-for cases. In addition, numerous houses and roads have destroyed, according to Guatemalan authorities.
The most significant rainfall was anticipated for El Salvador, where 19 people have perished this rainy season, on Monday and Tuesday. According to Fernando López, the minister of environmental and natural resources.
As a result, more than 3,000 people may stay in the 61 shelters that have established, according to officials.