Hurricane Otto takes aim at Central America
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — An unusually late-season Hurricane Otto swirled over the Caribbean just off Central America on Wednesday and headed toward a possible landfall in Nicaragua after regaining hurricane strength.
Heavy rains from the storm were blamed for three deaths in Panama, and officials in Costa Rica ordered the evacuation of 4,000 people from its Caribbean coast.
Nicaragua ordered evacuations in low-lying areas of its sparsely populated Caribbean coast, an order that could cover about 7,000 people.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the westward-moving storm had regained hurricane strength late Wednesday, with winds of 75 mph, after fluctuating between tropical storm and hurricane status earlier this week.
Otto “could seriously jeopardize food security for small-holder farmers who rely on maize, beans, cocoa, honey, coffee and livestock for their livelihoods,” said Jennifer Zapata, a regional director for Heifer International, a U.S.-based antipoverty group.
On Wednesday, the hurricane had top sustained winds of 70 mph and was moving west at 7 mph, the U.S. hurricane center said.