 |
|
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
   | 
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Hurricane Beta belts NicaraguaStorm weakens as it moves inland
 Tropical Storm Beta is seen over Central America in this satellite image taken at 3:15 p.m. ET. RELATEDSPECIAL REPORT
• Interactive: Safety Tips
• Flash: How hurricanes form
• Gallery: Saffir-Simpson scale
• I-Report: Send us your stories
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSMIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Hurricane Beta's heavy rains drenched Nicaragua and Honduras Sunday afternoon as the weakening storm moved inland following an early morning landfall with 105 mph (170 km/hr) winds. Thousands of residents sought shelter from the storm in boarded-up homes or government shelters. Beta, the 26th named storm of a record Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall near La Barra, Nicaragua, at about 7 a.m. ET as a Category 2 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. By Sunday afternoon, Beta had weakened to a tropical storm as it moved farther inland, the NHC said. In a 4 p.m. ET advisory, the NHC said Beta's maximum sustained winds had dropped to 65 mph (100 km/hr) -- down from the 105 mph (170 km/hr) at landfall. The storm was moving at 7 mph (11 km/hr) westward at 4 p.m. ET, with the center located about 65 miles (100km) northwest of Bluefields, Nicaragua. Tropical storm force winds stretched up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center. "A west to west-southwestward motion is expected until the circulation dissipates over western Nicaragua on Monday," the NHC advisory said. "The remnants of Beta are expected to continue generally westward into the eastern north Pacific," it said. Continued weakening was expected. Beta largely wiped out the town of Sandy Bay as it made landfall. Local reports said the town's population of 3000 had mostly fled in advance. Wooden huts constitute most of the housing in Sandy Bay, and about 80 percent of it was rendered unlivable, news reports in the region said. Beta briefly was a Category 3 storm, but remained just on the cusp as it approached shore: A storm with 111-mph maximum sustained winds is a Category 3. Three hours after landfall, the government of Honduras discontinued all coastal watches and warnings, and the Nicaraguan government discontinued a hurricane watch south of Bluefields. Beta was expected to dump 10 to 15 inches of rain across eastern Honduras and Nicaragua, with isolated amounts of up to 25 inches possible. An additional 1 to 2 inches was forecast for the outlying islands of San Andres and Providencia, which had already endured Beta's wrath as it passed by Friday. Storm surge flooding of 12 to 17 feet above normal was expected on on the eastern coast of Nicaragua near and to the north of where the center made landfall. On Saturday evening, the Nicaraguan army began moving thousands of coastal residents from their wooden homes to sturdier buildings inland in preparation for the hurricane's arrival. Officials worried that heavy rain associated with Beta could cause life-threatening mudslides and severe flooding. Beta on Saturday battered the Colombian island of Providencia, about 150 miles off the eastern coast of Nicaragua, with torrential rain and damaging winds. Several people were injured during the hurricane, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said Saturday, though he did not provide an exact figure or give the extent of the injuries, according to The Associated Press. No deaths were reported. Roofs were ripped off of dozens of wooden homes, the island's main communications tower was knocked over and a tourist foot bridge was torn apart. But most of the 5,000 islanders stayed safe by climbing Providencia's many hills to hunker down in brick shelters. Beta is the second storm named from the Greek alphabet. Hurricane Wilma, which struck southern Florida Monday, took the last of the hurricane center's alphabetized names for the year. If another tropical storm forms, it will be named "Gamma," the third letter of the Greek alphabet. Red alert in NicaraguaNicaragua's President Enrique Bolanos had declared a maximum "red alert" late Saturday, ordering everyone to stay inside, and said that some 45,000 people from the port regions were either secured in their homes or holed up in 15 shelters provided by the government. Earlier in the day, army troops evacuated 10,000 people from the far eastern coastal port of Cabo de Gracias a Dios, and from along the River Coco, both on the Honduras border, said Nicaragua's national civil defense director, Lt. Col. Mario Perez Cassar. Residents of low-lying neighborhoods in Puerto Cabeza also were taken to provisional shelters on higher ground as heavy rains and wind began to batter the coast, flooding some low-lying neighborhoods. Businesses raised food prices in response to the heavy demand, while bottled water supplies ran out. Authorities threatened to sanction the price gougers. Mayor Gustavo Ramos said 10 people were reported missing after their boat disappeared in the storm, trying to escape the storm. In Honduras, President Ricardo Maduro declared a maximum state of alert and authorities evacuated more than 50 people due to flooding in a coastal city also known as Gracias a Dios, on the border with Nicaragua. Record seasonThis Atlantic hurricane season has seen more named storms than at any point since record-keeping began in 1851, AP reported. Hurricane Stan hit southern Mexico on October 4, caused flooding and mudslides that killed 71 people in the southern state of Chiapas and left 654 dead -- and 828 missing -- in neighboring Guatemala. Another 71 died in El Salvador. Hurricane Wilma, which reached category 5 strength and was still a category 4 storm when it made landfall, killed four people in Mexico, 12 in Haiti, one in Jamaica and was blamed for 14 deaths in Florida. Late last week, Wilma battered Mexico's Caribbean coastline, including the resort city of Cancun, and its offshore islands. It was estimated by Mexican insurance companies to be the country's most costly disaster, with payments topping the $1.2 billion the industry paid out after Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. -- Journalist Rosemary Thornton contributed to this report Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| © 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
