Iota will hit Central America like a great hurricane

This will be the trajectory of Iota in the Caribbean Sea 2:20

(CNN) -

Tropical Storm Iota could become a major hurricane in the Caribbean and hit Central America early next week, the same region that was already devastated by Hurricane Eta earlier this month, forecasters say.

Iota, which was formed on Friday at sea, was located in the Caribbean about 917 kilometers east of the border between Nicaragua and Honduras with maximum sustained winds of 64 km / h at 4:00 am (Miami time) on Saturday , said the US National Hurricane Center (NHC, for its acronym in English).

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Forecasts indicate that Iota will continue westward and make landfall somewhere in Central America, roughly near the Honduras-Nicaragua border by Monday night or early Tuesday, according to CNN meteorologist Tyler Mauldin.

Iota is expected to become a hurricane at sea this weekend.

When it makes landfall, it is expected to be a major hurricane, at least Category 3, with winds of at least 178 km / h, the NHC noted.

In addition to generating damaging winds, Iota could drop 20 to 76 centimeters of rain in Honduras, northern Nicaragua, eastern Guatemala and southern Belize through Wednesday, the NHC said, unwanted news for a battered region. by Hurricane Eta last week.

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Costa Rica, Panama and northern Colombia could receive 10 to 30 centimeters of rain through Wednesday, while El Salvador and southern Nicaragua could receive 5 to 15 centimeters in the same period, the NHC said.

The Colombian government issued a tropical storm warning for the islands of San Andrés and Providencia, prior to Tropical Storm Iota.

• LOOK: Follow the trajectory of Iota

"This rain (from Iota) would lead to major and life-threatening flash floods and river flooding, along with landslides in areas of higher ground," the NHC stated.

Iota is the 30th named storm in the Atlantic this year, the most in an Atlantic hurricane season.

Central America devastated by Hurricane Eta

Eta crossed into northern Nicaragua on November 3 as a Category 4 hurricane, hitting that country and Honduras, Guatemala and Belize for days with heavy rains.

It caused landslides and severe flooding and left dozens of people dead or missing.

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The full extent of Eta's damage probably won't be known for a while.

But the powerful storm, combined with the coronavirus pandemic, can be remembered as one of the worst natural disasters to hit the region.

More than 3.6 million people in Central America have been affected by the storm to varying degrees, the Red Cross said earlier this week.

Nicaragua prepares for the arrival of storm Iota 2:41

Even before the storm, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala had poor public health systems that were battling Covid-19.

With thousands in shelters and social distancing difficult to achieve, many fear the disease will spread.

Hospitals there now also face the burden of fighting other storm- and flood-related diseases, from dengue to cholera to yellow fever.

CNN's Matt Rivers, Natalie Gallón, Taylor Ward and Haley Brink contributed to this report.

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