Eta death toll skyrockets in days following Central America landfall
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Nov 8, 2020 4:59 PM EDT
The U.S. Army and the National Police of Honduras both worked hard to rescue residents of Santa Bárbara, Honduras, from floodwaters after Hurricane Eta on Nov. 6.
Tragedy continues to mount in Central America as the view of mass destruction left behind by Hurricane Eta becomes clearer in the days since landfall. Upon shifting its wrath away from Nicaragua and Honduras, the most powerful storm of 2020 wreaked havoc over neighboring countries and skyrocketed the death toll by the dozens.
As of Saturday night, nearly 150 deaths are being linked to the former Category 4 hurricane, Reuters reported. On top of that, hundreds more were missing or left stranded.
Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei said on Thursday afternoon that the heavy rains in the mountainous areas of his country triggered a landslide that killed at least 25 people in the town of San Cristobal Verapaz. According to ABC News, Giammettei added that multiple other landslides and building collapses in the country had occurred earlier in the week and claimed at least 21 other lives.
On Friday, the death toll skyrocketed after a landslide buried around 150 homes in the village of Queja in the central Guatemalan region of Alta Verapaz, army spokesman Ruben Tellez said, according to Reuters. The army said approximately 100 people are believed to have died in Queja alone, though searches for survivors continue.
A road is blocked by a landslide in Purulha, northern Guatemala Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. As the remnants of Hurricane Eta moved back over Caribbean waters, governments in Central America worked to tally the displaced and dead, and recover bodies from landslides and flooding that claimed dozens of lives from Guatemala to Panama. (AP Photo/Santiago Billy)
Even after weakening to a tropical depression, Eta dumped heavy, flood-inducing rains throughout the region. On a local radio show, Giammattei said that 60% of the city of Puerto Barrios was flooded, ABC reported.
AccuWeather forecasters had predicted torrential rainfall and life-threatening flooding, with the heaviest amounts expected in the higher elevations of Nicaragua and Honduras.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) had forecast that parts of Nicaragua and Honduras could receive 15 to 25 inches of rain, with even up to 40 inches possible. By the end of the week, many of those predictions were realized and even surpassed.
The intense flooding in Honduras wiped out entire areas, including La Planeta, located near the coast. Resident Miguel Angel Beltran told The AP that his district was lost and many people drowned or remain missing.
“We rescued my brothers, all the family from a balcony, a three-story building,” he said. “How is it possible that a government has done nothing to warn people.”
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Here's a few of the most notable totals from the disastrous week from each country:
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Honduras: Four different locations saw over one foot of rain in Honduras, including two areas that topped 20 inches. No area in all of Central America was hit harder than the coastal town of Tela, which saw an estimated 28 inches of precipitation.
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Guatemala: Two areas in Guatemala also recorded over a foot rain, Coban and the aforementioned Puerto Barrios, where gauges topped out at 16.1 inches.
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Belize: Belize City, the largest city in the nation, recorded 11.46 inches of rain. According to Channel5Belize.com, the Mopan River in San Jose Succotz has flooded as much as eight feet above the normal level.
A rainfall map from NOAA highlights the areas of most intense precipitation in the days following Hurricane Eta's landfall and spread throughout Central America. (NOAA)
That widespread heavy rainfall not only triggered deadly landslides but also proved nearly disastrous for fisherman off the coast of Honduras. Thankfully, the group of previously missing group of 60 fishermen returned to land after taking shelter on cays until they were rescued, according to community leader Robin Morales, Reuters reported.
Reports of missing groups of people extended all the way down the coast of Central America into Panama, where The AP reported a group of at least eight people were missing after flooding and landslides in the province of Chiriqui.
“Our house collapse, now we don’t even have anywhere to go,” one devastated man in Chiriqui told AFP. “And we are not from here, we came to look for life to survive, but this thing happened and now I don’t know where we are going with the children."
AccuWeather forecasters said the storm's blow could have been even more catastrophic had it not weakened slightly just before landfall.
“Fortunately the storm went through an eyewall replacement cycle which caused it to weaken,” AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said. “I think had it not gone through that eyewall replacement cycle, we would have been dealing with a Cat 5.”
Eta is only one of five storms of Category 4 strength or greater to make landfall in Nicaragua.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Hurricane
Eta death toll skyrockets in days following Central America landfall
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Nov 8, 2020 4:59 PM EDT
The U.S. Army and the National Police of Honduras both worked hard to rescue residents of Santa Bárbara, Honduras, from floodwaters after Hurricane Eta on Nov. 6.
Tragedy continues to mount in Central America as the view of mass destruction left behind by Hurricane Eta becomes clearer in the days since landfall. Upon shifting its wrath away from Nicaragua and Honduras, the most powerful storm of 2020 wreaked havoc over neighboring countries and skyrocketed the death toll by the dozens.
As of Saturday night, nearly 150 deaths are being linked to the former Category 4 hurricane, Reuters reported. On top of that, hundreds more were missing or left stranded.
Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei said on Thursday afternoon that the heavy rains in the mountainous areas of his country triggered a landslide that killed at least 25 people in the town of San Cristobal Verapaz. According to ABC News, Giammettei added that multiple other landslides and building collapses in the country had occurred earlier in the week and claimed at least 21 other lives.
On Friday, the death toll skyrocketed after a landslide buried around 150 homes in the village of Queja in the central Guatemalan region of Alta Verapaz, army spokesman Ruben Tellez said, according to Reuters. The army said approximately 100 people are believed to have died in Queja alone, though searches for survivors continue.
A road is blocked by a landslide in Purulha, northern Guatemala Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. As the remnants of Hurricane Eta moved back over Caribbean waters, governments in Central America worked to tally the displaced and dead, and recover bodies from landslides and flooding that claimed dozens of lives from Guatemala to Panama. (AP Photo/Santiago Billy)
Even after weakening to a tropical depression, Eta dumped heavy, flood-inducing rains throughout the region. On a local radio show, Giammattei said that 60% of the city of Puerto Barrios was flooded, ABC reported.
AccuWeather forecasters had predicted torrential rainfall and life-threatening flooding, with the heaviest amounts expected in the higher elevations of Nicaragua and Honduras.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) had forecast that parts of Nicaragua and Honduras could receive 15 to 25 inches of rain, with even up to 40 inches possible. By the end of the week, many of those predictions were realized and even surpassed.
The intense flooding in Honduras wiped out entire areas, including La Planeta, located near the coast. Resident Miguel Angel Beltran told The AP that his district was lost and many people drowned or remain missing.
“We rescued my brothers, all the family from a balcony, a three-story building,” he said. “How is it possible that a government has done nothing to warn people.”
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Here's a few of the most notable totals from the disastrous week from each country:
Honduras: Four different locations saw over one foot of rain in Honduras, including two areas that topped 20 inches. No area in all of Central America was hit harder than the coastal town of Tela, which saw an estimated 28 inches of precipitation.
Guatemala: Two areas in Guatemala also recorded over a foot rain, Coban and the aforementioned Puerto Barrios, where gauges topped out at 16.1 inches.
Belize: Belize City, the largest city in the nation, recorded 11.46 inches of rain. According to Channel5Belize.com, the Mopan River in San Jose Succotz has flooded as much as eight feet above the normal level.
A rainfall map from NOAA highlights the areas of most intense precipitation in the days following Hurricane Eta's landfall and spread throughout Central America. (NOAA)
That widespread heavy rainfall not only triggered deadly landslides but also proved nearly disastrous for fisherman off the coast of Honduras. Thankfully, the group of previously missing group of 60 fishermen returned to land after taking shelter on cays until they were rescued, according to community leader Robin Morales, Reuters reported.
Reports of missing groups of people extended all the way down the coast of Central America into Panama, where The AP reported a group of at least eight people were missing after flooding and landslides in the province of Chiriqui.
“Our house collapse, now we don’t even have anywhere to go,” one devastated man in Chiriqui told AFP. “And we are not from here, we came to look for life to survive, but this thing happened and now I don’t know where we are going with the children."
AccuWeather forecasters said the storm's blow could have been even more catastrophic had it not weakened slightly just before landfall.
“Fortunately the storm went through an eyewall replacement cycle which caused it to weaken,” AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said. “I think had it not gone through that eyewall replacement cycle, we would have been dealing with a Cat 5.”
Eta is only one of five storms of Category 4 strength or greater to make landfall in Nicaragua.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo