Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua

Hurricane Iota began battering Nicaragua's Caribbean coast Monday night, threatening catastrophic damage to the same part of Central America already damaged by Hurricane Eta less than two weeks ago. The Category 5 storm made landfall on Monday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Puerto Cabezas resident Adán Artola Schultz said that this is the strongest and most dangerous hurricane he has ever seen. "Bilwi (another name for Puerto Cabezas) is completely destroyed, it was already destroyed by Hurricane Eta and now it is totally destroyed", he said, braving strong winds as the Hurricane made landfall.

Authorities warned that Iota would probably come ashore over areas where Eta's torrential rains saturated the soil, leaving it prone to new landslides and floods, and that the storm surge could reach 15 to 20 feet (4.5 to 6 meters) above normal tides. Eta had hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, killing more than 130 people as torrential rains caused flash floods and mudslides in parts of Central America and Mexico. 

(Image Credits: NOAA / AP)