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Bluefields (Nicaragua) (AFP) – Central America is on alert for approaching Tropical Cyclone Julia, which is moving across the Caribbean and threatening to turn into a hurricane before it reaches the coast of Nicaragua, according to the US National Hurricane Center (CNH) and local authorities.
“Julia is expected to intensify into a hurricane later today (Saturday). Hurricanes are being monitored in parts of the coast of Nicaragua, Providencia and San Andres,” the agency said in a statement.
The commission added that Julia is expected to generate “hurricane-force winds and a dangerous storm surge in areas where the center of the system crosses islands tonight and moves overland in Nicaragua on Sunday.”
According to Columbia’s Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), at 18:30 GMT Julia was 195 km from San Andres Island and 180 km from neighboring Providencia, which together with Santa Catalina completes an archipelago of about 48,000 inhabitants.
The hurricane is advancing at a speed of nearly 33 kilometers per hour with winds of 100 kilometers per hour, according to the entity.
Looking at Julia’s progress, the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, declared “high alert” on the Caribbean island of San Andres (north), where the hurricane is expected to enter at night.
For its part, the National Health Council warned that the rains that fell over the weekend could cause life-threatening “floods and mudslides” in Central America.
Bluefields rush lotions
In Bluefields, the main southern Caribbean city of Nicaragua threatened by a hurricane, fishermen put their boats into shelter and residents rushed to buy groceries and withdraw cash from ATMs.
“You have to prepare yourself with food and plastic and a little bit of everything, because we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Javier Duarte, a cabinetmaker who prays the hurricane is not strong and diverts its way from Bluefields, a municipality, told AFP dilapidated buildings with a population of about 60,000. .
“We’ve already had some hurricane experiences in Nicaragua, and we’re likely to see ‘a similar situation,'” said Constantino Rivera, a 47-year-old fisherman who was ordered to make landfall.
For its part, Nicaragua’s National System for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Attention (SINAPRED) on Saturday declared a yellow alert across the country and activated relief units.
The Nicaraguan Institute of Regional Studies (Ineter) reports that the tropical storm is “rapidly gaining strength” and is moving toward the southern Caribbean from the country, where it is estimated that it could affect the Laguna de Perlas region, north of Bluefields.
The government recommended residents to protect their homes and prepare to “evacuate and go to a shelter when necessary.”
As of Thursday, the naval force of the same country suspended departure permits for fishing vessels until further notice.
Honduras to save lives
In Honduras, the government announced on Friday in a statement that “for the sake of prevention and the safety of people’s lives” living in the northern Sola Valley, “controlled preventive drains” from the main dam in El Cajon will begin on Saturday. Hydroelectric power plant in the country covers an area of 94 square kilometers.
She predicts that “Storm Julia will directly affect the national territory” in the rivers that feed El Cajon. After passing through the turbines of the hydroelectric power plant, the water subsequently deposited in Ulúa and Chamelecón.
Flooding in Ulúa and Chamelecón, due to rains in the last ten days of September, has forced the evacuation of more than 12,000 people in areas near San Pedro Sula, the country’s second largest city and industrial capital. This is the area most threatened by Julia.
In Guatemala, President Alejandro Giamatti announced on Twitter that he had instructed institutions to be ready to serve and support Guatemalans who might be affected.
Meanwhile, the state’s Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRD), who is responsible for civil protection in this nation, on Saturday declared an institutional red alert in 22 counties of the country due to Hurricane Julia.
In November 2020, Hurricane Iota hit and caused damage in Beloy, the main municipality in the North Caribbean region of Nicaragua, 14 days after Hurricane Ita passed in the same place.
© 2022 AFP
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