(Bluefields) The Tropical Storm Julia It has become a hurricane and is expected to make landfall in Nicaragua early Sunday morning, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) and local officials.
Updated yesterday at 9:52 pm.
” Julia It became a storm with speeds of 120 km/h while passing near the islands of San Andres and Providencia, complete with Santa Catalina in the Caribbean Sea in the Colombian archipelago of about 48,000 inhabitants, the agency announced. American in a press release.
This was announced by Nicaragua’s Vice President Rosario Murillo Julia It is expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Sunday morning between the Orinoco and Laguna de Perlas, north of the town of Bluefields on the country’s southeast coast.
At 00:00 GMT, the hurricane was 200 km east of Bluefield and moving at 28 km/h, the NHC said.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared a “high alert” in San Andres.
Rains over the weekend could cause “flash flooding and mudslides” in Central America, the NHC also warned.
Bluefields are ready
In Bluefields, one of the main towns on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, fishermen haul their boats to safety and locals rush to stock up and withdraw cash.
“We have to prepare with food, little by little, because we don’t know what’s going to happen,” said cabinetmaker Javier Duarte, who prayed the storm would move out of its path and spare his life, AFP reported. City and its 60,000 inhabitants.
The National System for Prevention of Disasters of Nicaragua (Sinapred) put the entire country on yellow alert on Saturday and activated rescue units.
The government evacuated about 6,000 people from the Laguna de Perlas area and other threatened areas.
In Guatemala, 22 departments have been placed on red alert by civil protection services as the storm approaches, which will also affect Honduras and El Salvador.
In Honduras, the government announced preventive load shedding of the major hydroelectric dam El Cajon. Especially since the neighborhood of San Pedro Sula, the country’s second largest city and industrial center, suffered flooding and evacuations in late September and is now the most dangerous area. Julia.
In El Salvador, authorities declared an orange alert for the entire country, activating rescue units and preventive evacuations in high-risk areas.
In Panama, Civil Protection has set up a yellow alert, including the jungle region bordering Colombia and Darien province, a jungle region through which hundreds of migrants cross daily to reach the United States.
In late 2020, storms Eta And Iota It hit Central America, leaving at least 200 dead and many missing, and damage estimated at several million dollars.
