Julia kills 14 in Central America as it churns toward Mexico


The death toll from Tropical storm Julia rose to at least 14 on Monday.

AFP PHOTO / PAULINE BILLARD

  • On Monday, nine people were reported dead in El Salvador including five soldiers.
  • Authorities say at least 830 people had been evacuated.
  • The storm was moving northwest at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) along the coast of El Salvador toward Guatemala.

The death toll from Tropical storm Julia rose to at least 14 on Monday, officials said, with victims confirmed in El Salvador and Honduras, as the weakening storm dumped heavy rainfall on a swath of Central America and southern Mexico.

Salvadoran authorities reported the deaths of nine people as of Monday morning due to Julia, including five soldiers, while at least 830 people had been evacuated.

Authorities in both El Salvador and Guatemala also canceled classes on Monday.

In Honduras, five victims have been confirmed including a 22-year-old woman who died Sunday after she was swept away by flood waters, and a young woman and a four-year-old boy in a boat that capsized near the Nicaragua border on Saturday night, officials said.

Julia made landfall Sunday on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast before crossing into the Pacific Ocean.

On Monday, the storm was moving northwest at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) along the coast of El Salvador toward Guatemala, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The Miami-based NHC estimated that Julia’s maximum sustained winds currently stand at about 35 mph (56 km/h) with its center located some 35 miles northeast of Puerto San Jose Guatemala on the Pacific coast.

It is seen weakening on Monday evening.

But heavy rains could nevertheless cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides as it dissipates, the NHC said, with 5-10 inches of rainfall expected in El Salvador and southern Guatemala.

Mexico’s isthmus of Tehuantepec and western Honduras are forecast to receive 3-6 inches of rain, with less rainfall seen in Nicaragua, Honduras and northern Guatemala, according to NHC estimates.

Honduran authorities added that 9 200 people sought refuge in shelters.

In Nicaragua, Julia left a million people without power and heavy rains and floods forced the evacuations of more than 13 000 families.


Related Posts

Australia's crop yields could be 4% lower by 2063 if further action is not taken to address climate change.

Australia says cost of climate, disasters surging

Australia’s crop yields could be 4% lower by 2063 if further action is not taken to address climate change. Australia’s government said on Tuesday that a…

Clean energy technologies are projected to deliver a third of the emissions reductions needed by 2030, says the IEA.

Rich nations, China must accelerate race to net zero – global agency

Clean energy technologies are projected to deliver a third of the emissions reductions needed by 2030, says the IEA. Rich and developing nations alike must sharply…

In this handout videograb of footage taken and rel

Fearing ethnic cleansing, Armenians flee Karabakh after the breakaway region’s defeat by Azerbaijan

Armenians fled the long-contested Nagorno-Karabakh region after Azerbaijan defeated its armed forces. Some said they feared ethnic cleansing would follow the fall of the breakaway region. Armenia relies…

(Getty)

Germany’s housing sector slumps into crisis

Hundreds of homeowners-to-be across Germany have been left in the lurch as builders go out of business. A jump in interest rates and material costs has seen…

Watchdog targets Wall Street's private WhatsApp messages

Watchdog targets Wall Street’s private WhatsApp messages

The US securities regulator has collected thousands of staff messages in a probe into Wall Street’s use of private messaging apps. At least 16 firms have disclosed…

Lego designer Samuel Tacchi from France, 34, shows a few designs at the Lego campus in Billund, Denmark.

Lego drops plans to make new blocks from used plastic bottles

Lego designer Samuel Tacchi from France, 34, shows a few designs at the Lego campus in Billund, Denmark. Lego A/S has dropped plans to use recycled…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *