The Government of Nicaragua reported this Friday that it will evacuate the islands and keys of the Caribbean in the next few hours, due to the imminent impact of tropical storm Julia, which today was located 1,089 kilometers east of the Nicaraguan coast and threatens to become a hurricane.
The Nicaraguan Army “is preparing to evacuate families, especially from the islands and keys, which are the most exposed,” Vice President Rosario Murillo announced through official media.
The also first lady did not report how many people will be evacuated from the islands and keys of the Caribbean, where more than 7,800 people live, according to data from the National Institute of Development Information (Inide), the majority on Corn Island, although there are also scattered populations in the keys of northern Nicaragua.
The Nicaraguan authorities expect Julia to impact with the force of a minor hurricane between Saturday night and Sunday morning, between the towns of Prinzapolka and Sandy Bay Sirpe, a midpoint between the more than 500 kilometers of Nicaraguan coast in the Caribbean Sea. .
Yellow alert dismissed
Murillo affirmed that the authorities are preparing the conditions for emergency evacuations in case they are necessary.
Although the measures that Nicaragua has taken in the last hours correspond to a yellow alert, the first lady ruled out a declaration of emergency at this time.
“A few hours before (the impact) we will be issuing specific alerts to ensure that all precautions are raised to the maximum,” he said.
Who did launch a verbal alert hours before was the coordinator of the Development Council for the Caribbean Coast and electoral magistrate, Lumberto Campbell, who referred to a “serene” alert.
The Government of Nicaragua maintains a hurricane watch in its Caribbean territory, corresponding to the forecasts of the meteorological models.
This Friday the ban on sailing to the Caribbean Sea came into force in Nicaragua, and the captains of merchant, transport and fishing vessels have received the recommendation that they seek a safe harbor.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States reported that Tropical Storm Julia could become a hurricane next Saturday night, before it hits Nicaragua.
This Friday afternoon, Julia was located in the north of Colombia, where it was traveling at 30 kilometers per hour, heading west, that is, towards Nicaragua, and maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour that extended up to 130 kilometers from its center. .
The NHC also warned of heavy rain, storm surge up to four feet above normal tide level, in areas encompassed by its winds.
The impact of hurricanes on the east coast of Nicaragua is common, since the country has a coastline of more than 500 kilometers facing the Caribbean Sea, one of the most cyclonic areas in the world.
In November 2020, Nicaragua was hit by hurricanes Eta and Iota, which hit the Caribbean coast with category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with a maximum of 5, with a difference of 13 days between them.
