Icon: enlarge
Flooded places in Nicaragua
Photo: Getty Images
Hurricane "Eta" hit the east coast of Nicaragua with great force.
The dangerous cyclone uprooted trees, covered roofs and caused rivers to overflow.
"So far, we have no evidence that people have been harmed," said the head of the Nicaraguan civil defense, Guillermo González, on TN 8 television.
With wind speeds of up to 230 kilometers per hour, "Eta" hit land near Puerto Cabezas in northeast Nicaragua.
The US hurricane center warned that the second strongest category four hurricane was extremely dangerous.
Floods and landslides are to be expected.
Icon: enlarge
The dangerous cyclone uprooted trees, covered roofs and caused rivers to overflow.
Photo: INTI OCON / AFP
According to the civil defense, around 20,000 people were brought to safety from the particularly endangered towns on the Caribbean coast.
The government moved 1,500 soldiers to the region to help with evacuation and repair storm damage.
In the Bilwi region, trees fell, streets were flooded and the power went out, as the newspaper "La Prensa" reported.
Houses were also damaged.
Also hit Honduras by "Eta"
Nicaragua was last hit by hurricane "Otto" in 2016, as reported by the newspaper "La Prensa".
Hurricane Mitch was particularly devastating, killing at least 9,000 people across Central America in 1998 and reporting another 9,000 missing.
The exact death toll is still unknown.
In the poor countries of the region with the mostly poorly developed infrastructure, natural disasters often have fatal consequences.
Floods and landslides have also been reported from neighboring Honduras.
Almost 400 people were brought to safety.
In the city of San Pedro Sula, a 13-year-old girl was killed when a wall in her home collapsed.
The accident may have been caused by the hurricane.
In El Salvador, the government closed schools and universities.
"Eta" is the 28th tropical storm in the Atlantic this season.
So many tropical storms have only occurred in 2005. The hurricane season in the Caribbean will last until November 30th.
Icon: The mirror
bam / dpa