Hurricane Iota

Hurricane Iota was a Central American storm that took place from November 13th of 2020 to November 18th. It was an extremely devastating storm, but this was anticipated given that this was a category 5 Hurricane. Winds neared around 155 miles per hour and landfall was made on two islands; San Andres and Providencia. Both islands are the territory of Colombia, and San Andres being a moderately large island, makes the effects of the Hurricane much worse.

However, San Andres and Providencia were not the only islands that were hit. Unfortunately, Iota was the most powerful hurricane to ever make contact with Nicaragua, from the time that the nation was founded in 1821. Approximately eight people lost their lives from the hurricane, four of them being minors and four identified as adults. 400,000 people were forced to flee the area, and while some were successful, others had the worst of the storm. The government had already established safety shelters to wait out the hurricane, but it still was not enough to accommodate the entire population which had been affected. Due to the severity of the floods and winds, thousands of homes were declared uninhabitable and power cables became increasingly unresponsive. Additionally, landslides and torrential rain lay rampant even after the hurricane had struck. Colombia was also hit with moderately less strength shortly after the hurricane passed Nicaragua.

In contrast to islands like Providencia, Nicaragua, and Colombia, have a standard of infrastructure to protect themselves against calamities such as these. This, however, is not the case in Providencia. Nearly all, if not all of the buildings, were damaged in some way or the other. The main priority after the hurricane was to establish medical camps and emergency shelters for those who required it.

Making matters worse Hurricane Eta had just hit landfall on November 3rd. It was a category four hurricane throughout its duration, and it was the first since Hurricane Felix in 2007. Bridges, roads, and homes were all flooded as a result of this hurricane, along with countless trees and cars that were washed away. It had previously appeared unattainable to recover to full strength from Eta, and Iota proceeded to add upon the pile of destruction in certain regions of Central America. Iota hit landfall in 15-mile proximity to Hurricane Eta. Because it was only ten days after, much of the infrastructure in the area was not even close to rebuilt yet, as things like buildings and safety shelters take months to reconstruct.

The cause of Hurricane Iota can once again be traced back to climate change, along with Hurricane Eta and the 29 other tropical named storms within the Atlantic. With rising water temperature, tropical storms develop stronger winds and higher water levels. The floods of Hurricane Iota can be attributed to these very same water elevations.

To help assist the victims of Hurricane Iota, please donate to the charities listed below. Piece by piece, we can recover from this tragedy and help build lasting infrastructure that protects hurricane-prone areas such as these.

Ways to help!

American Red Cross

• https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2020/red-cross-response-to-western-wildfires.html#:~:text=You%20can%20help%20people%20affected,to%20Red%20Cross%20Disaster%20Relief.&text=Visit%20redcross.org%2C%20call%201,as%20a%20Red%20Cross%20volunteer.

• Provides context to situations.

Americares

• https://www.americares.org/news/2020-1117-americares-responds-to-hurricane-iota/

Sources

Holcombe, Madeline, et al. “Iota Considered the Strongest Hurricane in History to Hit Nicaragua, Government Says.” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 Nov. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/11/17/weather/hurricane-iota-tuesday/index.html.

Omer, Sevil. “2020 Hurricane Iota: Facts, FAQs, and How to Help.” World Vision, 18 Nov. 2020, www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2020-hurricane-iota-facts.

“Hurricane Eta Drenches Central America, Then Meanders Toward Florida (RECAP): The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel.” The Weather Channel, weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-11-12-tropical-storm-eta-landfall-florida-southeast-flooding-rain.