This past Tuesday, November 3rd, at around 4PM EST, Category 4 Hurricane Eta made landfall on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, just south of the town of Puerto Cabezas, with wind speeds up to 140 miles per hour. It was one of the most powerful storms to hit Central America in years.
By Tuesday night, Eta had weakened to a Category 2 Hurricane and continued to lose intensity as it moved across the northeastern part of Nicaragua, weakening to a tropical depression by Wednesday morning. As of yesterday (Thursday), Eta had moved northwest and into Honduras, and it is projected to head back into the Caribbean Sea toward Cuba and near the south of Florida over the weekend and into next week.
Though the path of the hurricane did not directly hit any of the communities in which AMOS serves, many regions in Nicaragua have experienced power outages, flooding, and up to 40 inches of rainfall. An unaccounted-for number of homes had their metal roofs ripped off, bridges were washed away, roads flooded, and homes made of wood and adobe were severely damaged. As of now, reports show that two Nicaraguans were killed while working in a mine due to a landslide brought on by the hurricane.
We are deeply touched by all the messages of love and prayers we have received this week. While the Nicaraguan government is still assessing the damage from the storm, AMOS continues to check in with our health promoters daily to assess their communities’ current situations and needs. As the rains related to the storm continue across Nicaragua this week, we will be closely monitoring possible risks to the health and safety of communities, including destruction of property and loss of crops.
Please keep praying for already-vulnerable families that AMOS supports as they navigate the health and economic effects of an unresolved political situation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now this severe storm. And please pray for families across Central America, that they may be protected and provided with food, shelter, health, and hope.
Thank you for all you do to support our ministry during this challenging time!
With love and gratitude,
