{"id":74109,"date":"2020-11-17T09:31:19","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T17:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/?p=74109"},"modified":"2022-07-15T10:22:24","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T17:22:24","slug":"2020-hurricane-iota-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/disaster-relief-news-stories\/2020-hurricane-iota-facts","title":{"rendered":"2020 Hurricane Iota: Facts, FAQs, and how to help"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hurricane Iota made landfall<\/a> in Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm, with the Central American region bracing for potentially catastrophic rainfall, flooding, mudslides, a storm surge, and damaging winds. It’s the second major hurricane to hit the region in two weeks.<\/p>\n

Learn the facts and frequently asked questions about Hurricane Iota. Please join us in prayer for children and families affected.<\/p>\n

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It’s a race against time for emergency workers to prepare vulnerable communities against the threat of Hurricane Iota, which made landfall Monday evening with sustained winds near 155 mph. Hurricane Iota’s landfall was located about 15 miles south of where Hurricane Eta<\/a> made landfall earlier this month.<\/p>\n

“We do not have much time,” says Jorge Galeano, national director of World Vision in Honduras<\/a> and Guatemala<\/a>. “Central America will be impacted again in the coming days by another storm, Iota, which will worsen already extreme survival conditions.”<\/p>\n

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From its vantage point roughly 22,300 miles above the Earth, the GOES–East satellite captured this lightning composite image loop of powerful Hurricane Iota making its way toward Central America on November 16, 2020. Meteorologists say they look for signs of lightning around the eye, as in the image loop above, which is often an indication of rapid intensification. (Photo courtesy of NOAA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hurricane Iota intensified over the Caribbean, strengthening to a Category 5 hurricane on Monday as it neared Nicaragua<\/a> and Honduras. The storm had sustained winds of 160 mph, as it was centered about 80 miles southeast of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, and moved westward at 9 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.<\/p>\n

The region is recovering from Hurricane Eta, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm on November 3. Eta’s torrential rains caused massive flooding and mudslides. Scores have died and many more are missing in Central America. Search and rescue efforts are underway in communities devastated by the storm.<\/p>\n

“The soil is already saturated, a mild increase in precipitations could be lethal and cause more flooding and landslides,” says Jose Nelson Chavez, regional advisor on emergencies for World Vision.<\/p>\n

Hurricane Iota’s storm surge is expected to raise water levels by as much as 15 to 20 feet above normal tide levels in areas of onshore winds along the coast of Nicaragua and Honduras, according to Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. He described Hurricane Iota as a “catastrophic situation unfolding<\/a> for northern Honduras with an extreme storm surge of 15- to 20-foot forecast along with destructive winds and potentially 30 inches of rainfall, and it is exacerbated by the fact that it should make landfall in almost the exact same location that Category 4 Hurricane Eta did about two weeks ago.”<\/p>\n

FAQs: What you need to know about Hurricane Iota<\/h2>\n

Explore facts and frequently asked questions about hurricanes<\/a> and Hurricane Iota, including how you can help people affected.<\/p>\n