Ron Brackett
Hurricane Eta destroyed homes, knocked down trees and caused flooding and a deadly mudslide along Central America's Caribbean coast as it came ashore late Tuesday afternoon, packing heavy rain and sustained winds of 140 mph.
At least one death was attributed to the storm.
A 13-year-old girl reportedly was killed when her house collapsed on her early Tuesday in the village of Carmen in the Cortés region of northern Honduras, according to La Tribuna. Rain from Eta unleashed a mudslide that slammed into a weak wall of the house and caused it to fall on the girl, the report added. Marvin Aparicio, a representative with COPECO, the Permanent Contingency Commission, of Honduras, confirmed the death, according to La Prensa.
In Nicaragua, images from Puerto Cabezas on the northeast coast showed the hurricane had ripped tin roofs off buildings and toppled trees. Utility poles leaned precariously over streets.
(MORE: Here's What to Expect from Eta)
At least 6,000 families were in shelters in Puerto Cabezas, a city of about 75,000 people that is also known as Bilwi, according to El Siglo.
Eta made landfall just south of the city at around 4 p.m. EST. It hovered just offshore for hours, pummeling the region with winds and rain.
Nicaragua's National System for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Attention tweeted that about 30,000 had evacuated to shelters.
At the Getsemani School where 215 people were sheltering, Eta ripped 10 sheets of metal off the roof about 2 a.m. Tuesday, school director Mildren Hernandez told La Prensa. No one was injured and no one had to move because it's a two-story building.
Hernandez said the school lost power about 10 p.m. and it remained off Tuesday morning.
The Nicaraguan government had issued a red alert for the Northern Caribbean region on Monday.
The Honduran government also issued red alerts for five regions.
Heavy rains from Eta caused flooding in several cities in Honduras. Firefighters rescued families from their flooded homes.
Video posted to social media showed water running through the streets in La Ceiba, Honduras, and a structure in a cemetery being washed away.
Aparicio, the COPECO representative, said 25 people were rescued. More than 380 people were evacuated from their homes, he said.
Four bridges were washed out in the Copán region of western Honduras, leaving more than 30 towns cut off, La Prensa reported.
About 300 passengers from the island of Roatán got a scare Monday afternoon when the ferry they were on was buffeted by high waves and wind as it tried to reach the port of La Ceiba in northern Honduras, La Tribuna reported.
After several attempts to reach the dock, the Galaxy Wave ferry had to return to Roatán, according to the ferry's owner. No one was injured, the owner said.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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