Hurricane Beta lashes Nicaragua, threatens mudslides

PUERTO CABEZAS, Nicaragua - Hurricane Beta lashed Nicaragua's Caribbean coast yesterday, destroying homes and toppling trees before losing steam overland, although its torrential rains still threatened mudslides and floods.

The storm hit small villages along the coastline with winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) and torrential rains. No deaths were reported but officials said a boat with 10 people aboard was missing from the remote coastal town of Puerto Cabezas.

Defence Minister Avil Ramirez told Reuters that scores of flimsy homes were wrecked when a swollen river broke its banks in the village of Karawala, near where Beta came ashore.

An army spokesman said 120 homes were destroyed in the area but no one was killed or injured.

The flooding extended to neighboring Honduras, where in the fishing town of Iriona local residents climbed onto the roofs of their homes to escape the high waters.

"About 80 per cent of the town is flooded," said the mayor, Simeon Crisanto. "My own house is under water. The water is above my knees."

Some 8,000 people were evacuated and the government flew in food, water and blankets as rivers broke their banks along Honduras' Caribbean coast.

Nicaraguan army units had rushed thousands of people into makeshift shelters in Puerto Cabezas, fearing a devastating direct hit from Beta. But they were largely spared when it made an unexpected late turn to the south.

It then quickly lost power over land and was downgraded to a tropical storm with 40 mph (65 km/h) winds by Sunday evening, although it was still dumping heavy rain and emergency officials feared flooding and mudslides in mountain villages.

"We have not had reports of deaths, no people knocked about, nor injured," said civil defence operations chief Samuel Perez. "But we expect rivers to swell."

Hurricane Mitch killed thousands

Both Nicaragua and Honduras were ravaged in 1998 when Hurricane Mitch's relentless rains killed about 10,000 people in flooding and landslides across Central America. This month, Hurricane Stan killed up to 2,000 people in the region, most of them Maya Indians in Guatemala's highlands.

Beta was the 13th hurricane and 23rd named storm of the record-breaking Atlantic storm season.

At 7 pm EST (12am GMT), it was about 85 miles northwest of Bluefields, Nicaragua's other Caribbean port, and was moving westward at 7 mph (11 km/h).

The US National Hurricane Center said Beta would fade to a tropical depression in coming hours but warned it would still drop 10 to 15 inches of rain on Nicaragua and Honduras, with up to 25 inches possible in some spots.

"These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," the Miami-based center said. It also forecast heavy rain in El Salvador and southern Honduras.

In Puerto Cabezas, eight families spent the night holed up in a small Baptist church, its windows protected from howling winds and torrential rain by wooden boards.

"We prayed," said Azucena Coulson, the wife of the pastor. "I was the one who was panicking, but I had to keep calm as the church leader."

Beta ripped roofs off homes on Colombia's small Caribbean island of Providencia, which along with neighboring San Andres was once a favored hideaway of famous 17th century Welsh pirate Henry Morgan. No deaths were reported.

Last week, Hurricane Wilma wrecked Mexico's Caribbean beach resorts, flooding Cuba and pounding southern Florida.

(additional reporting by Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa and Ivan Castro in Managua)

- REUTERS