Hurricane Eta lashes Nicaragua
Hurricane Eta plowed into Nicaragua on Tuesday (November 3), one of the most powerful storms to hit Central America in years.
The Category 4 storm battered homes, pried rooftops away, knocked down trees and powerlines and caused devastating flooding in the region.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center estimated that the storm's winds hit 140 miles per hour.
Marina Hooker was evacuated to a shelter in the city of Puerto Cabezas, where Eta came ashore.
"Of course we are nervous - this is not a game. This is something that's going to attack us, and the lives of our family members in other places might be lost."
UNICEF estimated that 1.2 million people in Nicaragua were at risk from the storm's fury and the country evacuated at least 3,000 families living in vulnerable communities on Monday.
In neighboring Honduras, rivers burst their banks, towns and cities on the coast flooded, and landslides hit roads.
State officials reported a 13-year-old girl died in a mudslide.
The eye of the storm is forecast to move north and hit central Honduras on Thursday. Models show the storm crossing over Cuba and approaching the Florida panhandle this weekend.
