Tropical Storm SARA made landfall at the border of Honduras and Nicaragua on the night of November 14 to 15. It brought torrential rains of up to thirty inches and caused life-threatening flash floods and landslides.
The storm claimed at least four lives in these two countries.
In Honduras, the disaster affected fifteen out of eighteen departments. In the southern departments of Choluteca and Valle, overflowing rivers led to the declaration of a red alert and mandatory evacuations.
The storm also severely impacted northern Honduras, where heavy rains flooded fertile lands, disrupting agriculture and industry. In the capital, Tegucigalpa, water levels in the Choluteca River rose by four meters, resulting in bridge closures and the evacuation of hundreds of residents.
Across the country, more than seven thousand five hundred homes were damaged, and destroyed roads, bridges, and aqueducts left two hundred-nine communities isolated.
In Nicaragua, torrential rains from Tropical Storm SARA also caused river overflows and road damage. Over one thousand eight hundred homes were flooded, and more than two thousand people were forced to evacuate.
Tropical Storm SARA also impacted several other Central American countries, including Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Belize. Across the region, more than one hundred twenty thousand people were affected by the flash floods and landslides caused by the storm.
In the final month of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June to November, typically no more than one tropical storm occurs, and major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher happen no more than once every five years. However, this November, within just twenty days, both a tropical storm and a Category 3 hurricane occurred.
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