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Hurricanes in Nicaragua

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Hurricane Iota at peak intensity on November 16 southeast of Nicaragua

Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the northwest, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Tropical cyclones are common in the country, with an average of one storm a year. The coast is especially subject to destructive tropical storms and hurricanes, particularly from July through October. The high winds and floods, accompanying these storms often cause considerable destruction of property. Hurricanes or heavy rains in the central highlands where agriculture has destroyed much of the natural vegetation also cause considerable crop damage and soil erosion. One of the deadliest hurricanes to hit Nicaragua has been Hurricane Mitch in 1998, in which the storm killed thousands in the country.

Pre-1900s

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1900-1949

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1950-1999

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  • 1971 - Hurricane Irene–Olivia caused heavy rainfall to the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua and made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane.[1]
  • 1988 - Hurricane Joan–Miriam was one of the worst natural disasters to hit Nicaragua on record. Most of the destruction was in Nicaragua. Throughout the country, 148 people perished, 184 were badly hurt, and 100 were unaccounted for. Roughly 23,300 homes were destroyed, with 6,000 being damaged.[2] Many settlements on the Atlantic coast of the country were completely destroyed.[3] In Costa Rica, a total of 55,000 people were evacuated.[4] The national electric company had 620 miles (1,000 km) of downed power lines, at the cost of 2.5 million USD (1988 dollars).[5] A port being constructed with Bulgarian help at El Bluff was severely damaged. On a brighter note, public health measures managed to keep the death toll lower than it could have been.[3] Bluefields was hit with extreme impact. Almost all the 7,500 structures in the city were demolished[6] or had their roofs blown off. The majority of the main buildings in the city were destroyed.[2] The hurricane also wreaked havoc on agriculture in the country. Around 15,700 head of cattle, 20,000 pigs, and 456,000 chickens were killed.[2] The hurricane caused severe disruption in most of Nicaragua's remaining rain forests in the areas it hit, and also stripped trees of leaves.[7] In the southeast rain forests, Joan toppled or snapped 80 percent of the trees and completely destroyed 500,000 hectares (1,200,000 acres) of canopy.[8] Hurricane Joan caused transportation difficulties in the country. Floodwaters destroyed 30 bridges and seriously damaged 36 others. Roads totaling 404 miles (650 km) in length were washed away.[2] The hurricane destroyed much of the infrastructure in Nicaragua, contributing to a recession that was already underway. The losses to cash crops severely reduced exports to under 200 million dollars (1988 USD).[5] These factors combined to aggravate a recession and deepen the economic crisis. Government spending to rebuild infrastructure negated recently introduced anti-inflation measures. Hurricane Joan was a partial cause of Nicaraguans being, on average, worse-off than they were in the 1970s.[9] In all, the storm left at least 250,000 people homeless.[6] Total damages in the country amounted to $751.1 million.[10]
  • 1993 - Tropical Storm Bret (1993) made landfall in Nicaragua as a moderate tropical storm, causing flooding that left 25 villages isolated.[11][12] It also brought heavy rainfall to Nicaragua, destroying 12 bridges and disrupting the drainage systems along the regional road network.[12] Only a month later, Tropical Storm Gert hit the same area.
  • 1996 - Hurricane Cesar–Douglas was a long-lasting and strong hurricane and was one of the few to survive the crossover from the Atlantic to east Pacific basin, Cesar made landfall near Bluefields as a weak Category 1 hurricane.
  • 1998 - Hurricane Mitch was also one of the worst natural disasters to hit Nicaragua, claiming the lives of around 3,800 people. It also brought extensive rainfall to Nicaragua, bringing over 25 inches of rain to some coastal areas.[13] As a result of the extensive rainfall, the flank of the Casita Volcano failed and became a lahar. This created a mudslide that would cover an area 10 miles (16 km) long and 5 miles (8 km) wide.

2000s

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Climatology

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Storms Affecting Nicaragua by month
Month Number of Storms
July
3
August
1
September
4
October
9
November
3
Overall
20
Storms affecting Nicaragua by period
Period Number of storms
1800s
3
1900s
10
2000s
7
Overall
20

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Huracán Irene". October 24, 2007. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Dr. Harold P. Gerrish. NHC Joan report p. 2 accessed April 10, 2006
  3. ^ a b Fox, Robert Nicaragua Still Reeling in Wake of a Hurricane Archived March 20, 2005, at the Wayback Machine accessed April 10, 2006
  4. ^ "NHC Joan report p. 4". Retrieved April 10, 2006.
  5. ^ a b Preston, Julia (1988). "Response Tepid to Managua's Aid Plea". Washington Post. Retrieved April 10, 2006.
  6. ^ a b David Longshore Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones pg. 204
  7. ^ Vetiver Network International. Vetiver as a Component of World Relief's Sustainable Agriculture Program in Nicaragua accessed April 11, 2006
  8. ^ Katherine Yih; Douglas h. Boucher; John H. Vandermeer; Nelson Zamora (1991). "Recovery of the Rain Forest of Southeastern Nicaragua After Destruction by Hurricane Joan" (PDF). Biotropica. 23 (2): 106–113. doi:10.2307/2388295. JSTOR 2388295. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
  9. ^ United States Library of Congress. Nicaragua Historical Background accessed April 11, 2006
  10. ^ United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (1988). "Hurricane Joan — Oct 1988 UN DHA Situation Reports 1-13". ReliefWeb. Retrieved August 26, 2009. [dead link]
  11. ^ "Bret Leaves 4 Dead on Caribbean Coast". Miami Herald. August 12, 1993. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Nicaragua Tropical Storm Aug 1993 UN DHA Situation Reports 1 – 8. United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (Report). ReliefWeb. 1993. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  13. ^ ERRI Watch Center. "Real-Time Reports Concerning the Devastation Caused by Hurricane Mitch". Archived from the original on April 22, 2006. Retrieved April 28, 2006.
  14. ^ "La Prensa - Ultima Hora". July 24, 2011. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  15. ^ "People's Daily Online -- Hurricane Beta hits Nicaragua, triggers heavy rains in Honduras, Costa Rica". en.people.cn. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  16. ^ "Huracán los terminó de hundir en la pobreza - El Nuevo Diario - Managua, Nicaragua". January 22, 2009. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  17. ^ "NHC - Hurricane Ida Tropical Cyclone Report (November 2009)" (PDF).
  18. ^ "World Meteorological Organization retires storm names Matthew and Otto | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration". noaa.gov. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  19. ^ "Hurricane Otto leaves at least nine dead in Costa Rica". aljazeera.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  20. ^ "Nicaragua muestra informe de daños por Eta a comunidad internacional". prensa-latina.cu/index.php?o=rn&id=410354&SEO=nicaragua-muestra-informe-de-danos-por-eta-a-comunidad-internacional (in European Spanish). Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  21. ^ Brigida, Anna-Cat; Cappucci, Matthew. "Hurricane Eta makes landfall in Nicaragua as a fierce Category 4 storm; flood disaster looms". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  22. ^ Madeline Holcombe, Amir Vera, and Elliot C. McLaughlin. "Iota considered the strongest hurricane in history to hit Nicaragua, government says". CNN. Retrieved December 20, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ Lopez, Lidia (November 17, 2020). "Sin agua, sin energìa eléctrica, ni redes de comunicación. Costa Caribe Norte queda aislada por Iota". La Prensa. Retrieved December 20, 2021.