Tropical Storm Matthew Brings Drenching Rain, Flooding to Central America
Tropical Storm Matthew brought drenching rain to Central America today as the weather system makes its way across the region, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds slowed to 40 miles per hour (64 kph) from 45 mph, the Miami-based center said in its latest advisory. Matthew is centered about 45 miles east of Monkey River Town, Belize, and is expected to move west- northwest at about 15 mph across Belize and northern Guatemala. The system will dissipate in the next day or two.
The storm may produce as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain over parts of Honduras, southern Belize, and Guatemala, and the Mexican state of Chiapas, the center said, with as much as 15 inches possible in isolated areas.
In Caracas, seven people died due to heavy rains from Matthew, Agence France-Presse reported today, citing fire department officials. The victims died in the Santa Ana de Antimano neighborhood yesterday after their home was flooded, the news service said.
About 15 people are missing in Honduras after they boarded a sailboat during the storm, AFP said.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Honduran coast west of Punta Sal, including the offshore islands and the Belize coast from Belize City to the south, the hurricane center said.
Mudslides
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said shelters were opened in the eastern part of the country, where the center had warned of rainfall of as much as 10 inches.
In Honduras, crews were sent to evacuate towns at risk for floods and mudslides, according to Copeco, the nation’s emergency response agency. El Salvador’s disaster agency called on fishermen to come in from sea, and warned residents to beware of potential landslides, according to an e-mailed statement.
In the Atlantic, Hurricane Lisa weakened to a tropical storm, according to a separate Hurricane Center advisory as of 11 a.m. New York time.
Lisa is about 540 miles northwest of the Cape Verde Islands with maximum sustained winds that have decreased to 70 miles per hour, the center said. The storm is moving north at 12 mph.
To contact the reporters on this story: Dan Hart in Washington at dahart@bloomberg.net; Blake Schmidt in Grenada, Nicaragua at bschmidt16@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sylvia Wier at swier@bloomberg.net.
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