At least 180 dead or missing after Hurricane Eta

Defence Redefined

Published on 07/11/2020 at 10:10

Cyclone Eta caused the death of at least 150 people while many are missing in Guatemala, the heaviest death toll in Central America, before hitting the Caribbean Sea, where it weakened in a tropical recession, to further strengthen and then threaten Cuba, Jamaica and Florida. In all, Eta caused nearly 180 deaths or missing persons and thousands more in six Central American countries.

The village of Cueha, in northern Guatemala, was buried almost entirely in mud after a landslide. “We estimate that among the dead and missing, the figures, which have not yet been formalized, are more or less 150,” Guatemalan President Alejandro Yamatei told a news conference. Floods and blocked roads prevented rescue teams from reaching the village yesterday, but a group of the army managed to approach it today and started looking for survivors in the ruins, he clarified.

Eta, which hit Nicaragua on Tuesday as a strong Category 4 cyclone with winds of 140km / h, gradually weakened as it passed through Nicaragua and Honduras. Extreme levels of flood danger were announced in at least six parts of Central America. The cyclone is expected to hit Cuba on Sunday, according to the US Cyclone Observatory NHC. It also threatens southeastern Mexico, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and southern Florida.

Source: CNA

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