Deadly storm forces thousands to leave homes in Central America
A slow-moving tropical storm brought heavy rain and floods to Honduras and Belize last year. Over 100‚000 people got caught in the storms path while authorities rushed to move residents to safer places
A low-power tropical depression (named Sara) moved north-west towards Mexicoʼs coast bringing non-stop rain to several countries. The stormʼs winds reached 35mph‚ and its moving speed was about 12mph
The Miami-based weather center spotted Sara about 160-miles from Campeche - Mexicoʼs coastal city. Local emergency teams posted a warning on X:
Dont take anything for granted! Secure loose objects and everything that could become a projectile
In Honduras the storm hit hard - more than 110‚000 people faced its effects. Officials moved 8‚000 people from their houses and put 5‚000 in storm-shelters; about 1‚700 towns lost phone service. The storm also reached coffee-growing areas in north-east and south regions of Central Americas biggest coffee maker
Belize got hit next: the storm dropped 12-inches of rain near the beach-town Dangriga. Ronald Gordon (Belizeʼs top weather expert) spoke about flood-risks in many places. The government told people to skip in-person church meetings and closed schools for safety reasons
Mexican weather experts think Sara will get weaker as it moves into Quintana Roo state; but theyʼre still worried about:
- mud-slides in hilly areas
- floods in low places
- damage to loose things outside
- problems with roads and bridges
