Tropical storm hits Central America
10:51:16 Þ.Ù
Tropical Storm Alma slammed into Nicaragua's coast Thursday as the first such storm of the eastern Pacific season, forcing tens of thousand of people to evacuate and flooding low-lying areas, before pushing into neighboring Honduras.
The National Hurricane Center said Alma was the first tropical storm in the available records to make landfall on Central America's Pacific coast.
Such storms normally make landfall farther west, along Mexico's Pacific coast.
Tropical storms often hit Central America's Atlantic coast.
Alma reached land near the Nicaraguan colonial city of Leon, whose Mayor, Transito Tellez, said houses had been destroyed and power knocked out by the storm.
Rescue personnel described houses whose roofs had been blow off, and homes that had been crushed by fallen trees.
The storm forced the evacuation of as many as 25,000 people in the area, and telephone service was also knocked out, said Civil Defense Director Mario Perez Cassar.
"The wind whipped up the sand, and it lashed your face like sand paper," said Erasmo Lopez, a fisherman in the coastal hamlet of Poneloya, near where Alma made landfall.
"The trees were shaking like crazy, cars were shuddering, and you couldn't even see in front of you."
Nicaragua's Radio Ya reported that a 30-year-old man was electrocuted in Trasbayo, 40 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of Managua, after a power line snapped under highwinds.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Alma was weakening as it headed inland.
By late Thursday it had maximum sustained winds of around 45 mph (75 kph) as it moved over southern Honduras at a speed of 9 mph (15 kph). It was expected to weaken to a tropical depression before reaching Guatemala or Belize late Friday or Saturday.
The fast-growing storm took forecasters and many in Central America by surprise.
Many flights were also grounded, and at least one small plane carrying five people had to make an emergency landing in the Caribbean coastal city of Blue fields because of bad weather conditions.
The storm wrapped the Costa Rican capital of San Jose in adense fog, slowing traffic to a crawl and causing dozens of accidents.
Along the coast, some 200 families were evacuated to more than 160 storm shelters set up after Alma dumped rain over the country for 24 hours.
Landslides blocked a few highways.
Forecasters warn it could dump as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain in places.
The eastern Pacific hurricane season began May 15.
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http://www.iribnews.ir/Full_en.asp?news_id=254717&n=25
The National Hurricane Center said Alma was the first tropical storm in the available records to make landfall on Central America's Pacific coast.
Such storms normally make landfall farther west, along Mexico's Pacific coast.
Tropical storms often hit Central America's Atlantic coast.
Alma reached land near the Nicaraguan colonial city of Leon, whose Mayor, Transito Tellez, said houses had been destroyed and power knocked out by the storm.
Rescue personnel described houses whose roofs had been blow off, and homes that had been crushed by fallen trees.
The storm forced the evacuation of as many as 25,000 people in the area, and telephone service was also knocked out, said Civil Defense Director Mario Perez Cassar.
"The wind whipped up the sand, and it lashed your face like sand paper," said Erasmo Lopez, a fisherman in the coastal hamlet of Poneloya, near where Alma made landfall.
"The trees were shaking like crazy, cars were shuddering, and you couldn't even see in front of you."
Nicaragua's Radio Ya reported that a 30-year-old man was electrocuted in Trasbayo, 40 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of Managua, after a power line snapped under highwinds.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Alma was weakening as it headed inland.
By late Thursday it had maximum sustained winds of around 45 mph (75 kph) as it moved over southern Honduras at a speed of 9 mph (15 kph). It was expected to weaken to a tropical depression before reaching Guatemala or Belize late Friday or Saturday.
The fast-growing storm took forecasters and many in Central America by surprise.
Many flights were also grounded, and at least one small plane carrying five people had to make an emergency landing in the Caribbean coastal city of Blue fields because of bad weather conditions.
The storm wrapped the Costa Rican capital of San Jose in adense fog, slowing traffic to a crawl and causing dozens of accidents.
Along the coast, some 200 families were evacuated to more than 160 storm shelters set up after Alma dumped rain over the country for 24 hours.
Landslides blocked a few highways.
Forecasters warn it could dump as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain in places.
The eastern Pacific hurricane season began May 15.
sm
http://www.iribnews.ir/Full_en.asp?news_id=254717&n=25
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