The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned Nicaragua and Honduras about the possible impact of Storm Sara, which has a high probability of becoming a hurricane and is currently forming off the Caribbean Coast of both Central American countries.
According to NHC meteorologists, Sara will gain strength in the next few hours due to the warm conditions of the open Caribbean sea and starting this Thursday its direction will be heading west; However, experts expect it to weaken when it encounters the coast of these countries.
Until now Sara, which would be tropical cyclone number 19, is located about 735 kilometers east of Guanaja Island, in Honduras, and 470 kilometers from Cabo Gracias a Dios, on the border between Nicaragua and Honduras, with a speed of translation of 9km/h with maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h.
The system will remain near the coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua until Sunday. In the early hours of Monday it will arrive in Belize.
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Alerts in Nicaragua and Honduras
For Nicaragua, the Institute of Territorial Studies (Ineter) and the National System for the Prevention, Mitigation and Attention of Disasters (SINAPRED) monitor the tropical phenomenon and have placed under surveillance an area that extends from its border with Honduras to the south, to Puerto Cabezas, in the Caribbean.
For its part, Honduras has issued a hurricane warning from Punta Castilla to the border with Nicaragua. The authorities of both countries have alerted the population about heavy rains and landslides in the area, in addition to the increase in the storm surge that the potential cyclone could impact.
According to the latest report from the NHC, Sara could enter Nicaraguan and Honduran territory this Thursday night and early Friday morning. The US Meteorological Center also warns of flooding and major thunderstorms in the impact zone.
For the rest of the Nicaraguan territory, the rains continue due to tropical wave number 35 that entered the country last Monday.