Al-Jasser: work is underway to restructure and develop aviation infrastructure    Diriyah to host third IMFC Deputies meeting under Saudi chairmanship    15,135 decisions taken to penalize Saudis and expats for violations    Saudi-European Parliamentary Friendship Committee discusses cooperation during Strasbourg visit    Saudi stock market loses half a trillion riyals, with Aramco's losses amounting to SR340 billion Tariff turmoil rattles Gulf markets    KAU to host Digital Communication Conference in Jeddah from April 29 to May 1    TGA: Riyadh tops with 45% of 290 million orders delivered in 2024    Aja and Salma mountains draw nature lovers to Hail's rugged landscapes    US revokes all visas for South Sudanese nationals over deportation dispute    Death toll from Myanmar earthquake rises to 3,471    Macron to hold Gaza summit with Egypt and Jordan in Cairo    Benzema rescues Al Ittihad with stoppage-time equalizer in thrilling Jeddah Derby    Al Qadsiah and Al Ettifaq share spoils in tense Eastern Derby stalemate    Moussa Diaby praises Al Ittihad's resilience after Jeddah Derby draw "When you can't win, you take a point"    Saudi assistant referee Iman Al Madani joins AFC elite list for 2025    Riyadh Art Week launches with over 50 galleries showcasing global artistic dialogue    Turki Al-Sheikh announces five new Saudi film projects to be produced in Riyadh    Saudi Ministry of Education to showcase innovations at 2025 Geneva International Exhibition    Ed Sheeran weaves Persian music into new song, Azizam    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



UN warns of catastrophe as second hurricane in two weeks hits Central America
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 18 - 11 - 2020

The United Nations warned on Tuesday of catastrophic consequences from Hurricane Iota, the second major tropical cyclone to hit Central America this month.
"We're running out of superlatives for this Atlantic hurricane season. It's record breaking in every sense of the word. We are currently, with Iota, on the 30th named tropical storm," Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization, told a regular UN news briefing in Geneva.
"Iota made landfall less than two weeks after Hurricane Eta, which was also a very strong category four hurricane, made landfall just 25 kilometers apart. So we're having these huge impacts hitting basically the same area. Nicaragua, Honduras, other parts of Central America have not recovered from Hurricane Eta, and now they're being slammed by this new terrific powerful hurricane," Nullis said.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said aid workers in Central America were still discovering the extent of damage from Eta and were now preparing to deal with a second potentially catastrophic impact.
Life-threatening
"Iota, with its strong winds and very heavy rainfall, can cause life-threatening flash flooding, river flooding and landslides, not least because the soil is already saturated by Eta."
Estimates of damage from Eta were still going up as officials and local authorities gradually got access to the most affected areas, Laerke said.
"So, for example, Honduras, authorities now report that 3 million people are affected. That's 1 million more than the figures that they reported last week. In Guatemala, we are talking about more than 900,000 people directly affected by Eta.
"That's nearly triple the figure from the previous weeks. So this is very much still developing emergency on top of which now slams another emergency with potentially catastrophic consequences."
Landslide risk
Matthew Cochrane, spokesperson for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said the main concern was the risk of landslides, heavy flooding and wind damage.
The Red Cross had been involved in helicopter evacuations before the storm hit and it had rescue boats in Honduras ready to launch rescue operations once it had passed, he said.
Iota had already brushed past northern Colombia and the Red Cross there was in the early stages of a recovery operation to help 50,000 families affected by the storm, Cochrane said.
But a 20 million Swiss franc emergency appeal to support people affected by Hurricane Eta had so far had an extremely slow response from donors, he added.
World Food Program spokesperson Tomson Phiri said humanitarian agencies had done what they could to prepare, but the hurricane season had turned out to be even worse than expected, starting early and going on longer.
"For example, continued flooding in countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, is going to affect the incoming harvest, and this will severely strain subsistence farmers and already, whilst it's still early days, it is quite clear that this will extend the emergency even into mid-2021," Phiri said.
Tragic late surge
Nullis said that at this time of year hurricane season should be winding down, but instead there was a very tragic late surge. "Iota is the strongest storm in the hurricane season so far to make landfall." — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.