The death toll from Central America's Storm Eta has risen to around 150 as military forces have reached a remote mountain village. Mudslides caused by rains have killed nearly 100 people in the village.
Army spokesperson Rubén Téllez has said that nearly 150 houses have been swallowed by mudslides and many are feared buried in their homes.
Rescue operations have been delayed due to destroyed roads.
Storm Eta is one of the strongest to hit central America in years. the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned that “catastrophic flooding” in the region would continue. This has forced the government to draft the military and use helicopters to access people stranded on top of their houses.
Eta entered Nicaragua as a category 4 hurricane on Tuesday with wind speeds up to 150 mph. It then weakened as it unleashed torrential rains upon Honduras and Guatemala.
President Giammattei said rescue efforts were limited as they have only one helicopter adequate for these operations. "We have a lot of people trapped [whom] we have not been able to reach," he said. A state of emergency has been declared in many areas.
NHC has said that Eta will continue to batter portions of Central America with “catastrophic, life-threatening flash flooding and river flooding” and added that flash flooding and river overflows were also possible across Jamaica, south-east Mexico, the Cayman Islands and western Cuba.
Written by Anushree Appandairajan
Artwork by Sophia Patterson
