Late-season Category 4 Hurricane Eta is set to make landfall in Central America on Tuesday, bringing strong winds and “life-threatening” flooding.
The National Weather Service urged people in the path of Hurricane Eta to seek shelter. The service warned of flash floods, catastrophic winds, landslides, and the possibility of up to three feet of rainfall in a statement released on Oct. 30. Eta was nearing Category 5 designation on Tuesday.
“This rainfall will lead to catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding and river flooding, along with landslides in areas of higher terrain of Central America,” read the statement. “Flash flooding and river flooding will be possible across Jamaica, southeast Mexico, El Salvador, southern Haiti, and the Cayman Islands.”
On Tuesday morning, Puerto Cabezas resident Carmen Enriquez told Reuters that she was “afraid” of the damage the storm could bring. “There are fallen poles, there’s flooding, roofs torn off,” Enriquez said.
Eta challenges Hurricane Laura as the strongest storm of the season and becomes the 28th named storm this year, tying a record set in 2005. Eta is the third-strongest storm hurricane recorded in the month of November, with winds nearing 150 mph. The hurricane season began on June 1 and runs through the end of November, although named storms can still form after the season ends.
The storm is expected to weaken as it makes landfall in Nicaragua and Honduras, but some weather analysts suggest it may recharge in the Caribbean next week.
