Julia emerges over Pacific after crossing Nicaragua
On Sunday, Tropical Storm Julia emerges over the Eastern Pacific. Before that, it had pounded Nicaragua with rain and winds, damaging hundreds of homes but not killing anyone, according to government officials.
Local authorities in Honduras said the storm was to blame for three deaths. A young woman and a 4-year-old boy died when their boat capsized Saturday night near the border with Nicaragua. A 22-year-old woman died Sunday in the north when she was swept away by flood waters.
Early on Sunday, the storm hit the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua near Laguna de Perlas. By 6 p.m. local time (0000 GMT; 8:00 a.m. Philippine time), the centre of the storm was over the Pacific about 135 miles (220 km) southeast of El Salvador’s capital.
The NHC says that on Sunday and Monday, it will move north along the coasts of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
Local media reported that Vice President Rosario Murillo said that about one million people in Nicaragua’s coastal region lost power and internet because of fallen power lines and a decision by the government to cut power for safety reasons.
In a tweet on Sunday, the Nicaraguan National Disaster System said that the country was on “red alert” because heavy rains had caused many rivers to flood.
Guillermo Gonzalez, who is in charge of Nicaragua’s disaster system, told a press conference that Julia had not killed anyone in the country but had forced more than 13,000 families to leave their homes, flooded more than 800 homes, and damaged many roofs.
Gonzalez said, “The event is not over.”
The NHC kept its warning about the “risk of life-threatening flash floods and mudslides across Central America and Southern Mexico” until Tuesday.
Early on Sunday, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said on social media that Julia had caused “light damage” to the islands of San Andres and Providencia, which are in Colombia and near Nicaragua.
Police captain Octavio Gutierrez said strong winds in San Andres tore the tin roofs off homes. On Sunday, police and locals used hand-held saws to clear fallen tree trunks and branches from the streets.
In Honduras, the government put out a red alert in high-risk areas and told people to leave. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele made Sunday a “National Day of Prayer” and asked people to “come together to pray and ask for God’s protection.” People prayed in city plazas early on Sunday.
As Julia moved north, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei told reporters late on Sunday that the storm had already caused three floods and one bridge to collapse.