Hurricane Julia hit the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua this Sunday with strong winds and heavy rains and entered its territory, after hitting the Colombian archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia No reports of damage or casualties.
“Satellite and radar data from Nicaragua indicate that the center of Julia made landfall in Nicaragua along the coast near Laguna de Perlas” at 7:15 a.m. (4:15 a.m. Argentine time) on Sunday, the Center published on its Twitter account. Hurricane National.
At the time of impact on the ground, winds reached 136 kilometers per hourAccording to the report.
San Andres dawns without electricity. Good thing my family is safe. You see a chicken on the street #Julia #SanAndres pic.twitter.com/DaetiPkEvf
— Yoana Cataño (@yoanacatano) October 9, 2022
In Bluefields, hurricane-force winds and heavy rains began to be felt around midnight on Saturday, according to the AFP news agency.
There are reports of unstuck roofs, fallen trees and no electricity in the citywhich remains in the dark, according to official media.
Part of the damage generated by the Hurricane #Julia in San Andres. pic.twitter.com/wyfsWpKFSG
– Lesser Evil (@anditri042h) October 9, 2022
After entering the Caribbean, Julia will move across the territory until exiting Sunday afternoon or evening into the Pacific Ocean as a tropical storm.according to CNH projections.
Meanwhile, the Colombian archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia, home to some 48,000 people, was lashed by the winds of Julia before reaching the Nicaraguan coastbut authorities had reported no significant damage or casualties.
Prior to Julia’s arrival
The population of Bluefields stocked up on groceries and sheltered in their homeswhile the fishermen took their boats to safety.
“You have to prepare yourself with food, plastics, a little of everything, because we don’t know what will happen,” said Javier Duarte, a cabinetmaker who said he had prayed that the cyclone would not be powerful in this municipality of around 60,000 inhabitants.
“We have already had some experiences of hurricanes in Nicaragua, and we are likely to pass” a similar situation, said Constantino Rivera, a 47-year-old fisherman who was ordered to return to land.
The government reported that evacuated more than 6,000 people in Laguna de Perlas, in the Cayos Miskitos, an island located off the Caribbean coast and other coastal communities.
“This storm has come gradually, but progressively evolving and strengthening,” said the meteorology director of the Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (Ineter), Marcio Baca.
According to the CNH, Julia will bring rains over the weekend that could cause “flash floods and mudslides” in Central America.
In the face of emergency, the governmental National System for the Prevention, Mitigation and Attention of Disasters (Sinapred) of Nicaragua reported that the Army’s rescue units were displaced to risk areas to assist the population, while the police mobilized more than 400 media.
The Ministry of Health, for its part, supplied all the areas that will be affected by the hurricane with medicines, equipment and emergency rooms.
Sinapred also has 91 schools to be used as shelters in the Caribbean region and the southern department of Río San Juan.
“We hope to be ready to safeguard lives, because that is what we prioritize,” said Rosario Murillo, wife of President Daniel Ortega.
Alert levels in different countries
Nicaragua The rains from Julia are expected to affect the departments of Chontales, Boaco (center), Matagalpa, Estelí, Madriz (north) and Chinandega (northwest), where the soils are saturated and landslides could occur.
Before the arrival of Julia, Colombia and the countries of Central America They announced different levels of alert.
In Guatemalathe Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred), in charge of civil protection, declared a red alert throughout the country on Saturday.
The Savior A state of national emergency was declared on Saturday night and the government will allocate financial and logistical resources to serve the population.
In Panamathe National Civil Protection Service decreed a yellow alert in almost the entire country, including the province of Darién, a jungle area bordering Colombia, where hundreds of migrants pass daily on their way to the United States, while Honduras remained on a yellow alert .
According to the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) of Costa RicaHurricane Julia has a very extensive cloud field that could cover all of Central America, covering an area of more than 522,000 km².
Julia is the second hurricane of the 2022 season in the Central American Caribbean, after Bonnie entered the southern Caribbean between the border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica in July and affected hundreds of people in the region.
Climate change produces an increase in temperature in the superficial layers of the oceans, which generates more powerful storms and hurricanes and with greater amounts of water.according to experts.
