Tropical Storm Sara kills 4 in Honduras and Nicaragua

BOGOTA, Colombia

Tropical Storm Sara left four people dead and thousands affected in Honduras and Nicaragua after crossing northern Central America, authorities said Monday.

In Honduras, the hardest-hit country in the region, Sara left two dead, including a three-year-old child who was swept away by a river Sunday. Sara affected 123,273 people in the country. More than 200 homes were destroyed and 3,200 were damaged. Nine bridges were destroyed by fast-flowing waters and there were road landslides, Honduran emergency services reported. Farm crops were also severely damaged.

Nicaragua said that 5,000 people were affected and 1,800 homes flooded due to the rise of 25 rivers.

Rains in the two weeks prior to the formation of Sara left at least six dead and four missing in Costa Rica, where there were more than 54 landslides, and nearly 5,000 people were treated by emergency services.

After passing through Belize on Sunday, Sara was downgraded to a tropical depression in southern Mexico, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Sara is the 18th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and the third in November. Tropical storm formation is not expected over the next seven days and the storm season is expected to end at the end of the month.

An average season brings 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which predicted the 2024 season would see more of these phenomena.