Hurricane Beta

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Hurricane Beta
Hurricane Beta near maximum intensity off the Nicaraguan Carribean coast on October 30, 2005

Hurricane Beta near maximum intensity off the Nicaraguan Carribean coast on October 30, 2005
Duration Oct. 26 - 31, 2005
Highest winds 115 mph (185 km/h) sustained
Damages Not available, reportedly severe
Fatalities None reported
Areas affected San Andrés and Providencia, Nicaragua, Honduras
Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Beta extended the record for most named Atlantic tropical storms in a season to 23 and was the first use of the name Beta for an Atlantic tropical system. Beta was the thirteenth Atlantic hurricane of 2005, which breaks the 1969 record of twelve hurricanes, and seventh major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Additionally, it was the first hurricane and the second tropical system (after Tropical Storm Alpha) to ever be named with a Greek letter.

On October 30 it made landfall on the Mosquito Coast in the north of the Nicaraguan Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur. It is expected to affect other countries around Nicaragua as well. The main concerns are the effects over the mountains of Central America, where heavy rain could cause severe, or even catastrophic, floods and mudslides.

Earlier that month, the Category 1 Hurricane Stan hit Central America, causing floods and mudslides that killed thousands of people in Guatemala, El Salvador, and the Mexican state of Chiapas. There were initially some fears that Beta, which was a stronger storm than Stan, might cause even greater damage, but these fears were not realized.


Contents

Storm history

Hurricane Beta as a Category 2 on October 29
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Hurricane Beta as a Category 2 on October 29

Late on October 26, a broad area of low pressure in the southwestern part of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Costa Rica developed and became Tropical Depression Twenty-six. At the second full advisory six hours later, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Beta. Beta strengthened into a hurricane at 2 am EDT October 29, after spending a few hours on the border between tropical storm and hurricane strength. Beta reached windspeeds of 115 mph (185 km/h) making it a Category 3 hurricane by 4 am EST October 30.

The Colombian island of Providencia, about 140 miles off the coast of Nicaragua, was subjected to hurricane force winds for several hours as the center of the storm moved slowly very close to or over the island. Initial reports indicated extensive damage to homes and an increase of communications with the islanders.

Beta made landfall in the morning of October 30 near the town of Sandy Bay Sirpi, 310 kilometres northeast of the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, as a strong Category 2 hurricane, wrecking a number of buildings and toppling trees. It weakened as it interacted with land and dissipated into a remnant low pressure system. Had the system continued to move westward, the possibility existed for it to regenerate once it entered the Pacific Ocean. If the storm had regenerated, a new number and name would have been given.

The remnants of Hurricane Beta dropped heavy rain over parts of Central America on Monday, prompting forecasters to warn of deadly landslides and flooding as the storm began to dissipate. There were numerous reports of damage but fortunately no deaths were reported, although there were numerous reports of injuries and people missing. The storm finally dissipated late in the evening of October 30.

Although Beta had moved out to sea, lingering rains from the storm continued to fall on Nicaragua and Honduras on October 31.

Nicaraguan officials said that if the hurricane had hit larger coastal cities such as Puerto Cabezas or Bluefields as was first predicted it would have been a disaster.

Preparation

In Puerto Cabezas, local authorities announced a curfew to prevent looting and worked to cut off electricity throughout the city to prevent potential injuries. 60,000 people were moved into shelters. Thousands of residents trudged through heavy rain to reach shelters.

Many experts, including national meteorology director Milagros Castro, warned of the threat of mudslides, especially since Beta was a slow-moving storm.

In Honduras, the government maintained a red alert for the storm and an emergency committee was working on evacuating 150,000 people from areas of the capital, Tegucigalpa, that would be prone to flooding and mudslides. Evacuations were being readied in five of the country's eighteen departments.

Civil defense officials have declared an alert in neighbouring El Salvador, fearing the threat of mudslides after Hurricane Stan devastated the region.

The preparations ultimately turned out to be critical, since there have been no reported fatalities despite the extensive damage.

Impact

Providencia

On the island of Providencia, roofs were ripped off of dozens of wooden homes, the island's main communications tower was knocked over and a tourist foot bridge was torn apart. But most of the 5,000 islanders stayed safe by climbing Providencia's many hills to ride out the storm in brick shelters.

At least thirty people are reported to have been injured during Hurricane Beta's wrath on the island.

Nicaragua

Beta largely wiped out the town of Sandy Bay as it made landfall. Local reports said the town's population of 3,000 had mostly fled in advance. Wooden huts constitute most of the housing in Sandy Bay, and about eighty percent of it was rendered uninhabitable.

Trees were uprooted and roofs were ripped off of houses during Hurricane Beta's wrath. At least one pier was damaged. Many herds of cattle were killed by the storm.

700 people were trapped in Tasbapauni, a town separated from the mainland by a lagoon. Eighty percent of homes in Tasbapauni are estimated to be severely damaged. Some 200 homes in Laguna de Perla's seventeen lake-front villages are reported to have been severely damaged.

Though the storm's remnants were expected to drop an additional four to eight inches on already saturated ground, President Enrique Bolanos said his country had escaped a major catastrophe. He pledged to quickly get aid to remote towns cut off by flooding and landslides.

Nicaraguan Civil Defence Chief Col. Mario Perez Cassar said eighty per cent of the buildings on the central coast where the hurricane hit were heavily damaged or destroyed.

Four people were reported to be missing in Nicaragua. One person is reported to be injured. The four missing men were found alive Monday aboard a boat that had been swept out into the Caribbean. A passing Panamanian-registered tanker ship found the four, all Miskitu Indians, adrift about forty eight kilometres off the Nicaraguan coast after their gasoline ran out.

Honduras

In Honduras, Beta left 50 communities isolated and damaged bridges in the northeastern provinces of Gracias a Dios, Atlantida and Colon on the coast.

Strong winds knocked down signs, fences, trees and electricity and telephone poles, cutting off power and communication in hundreds of communities and at least two highways were blocked.

Authorities evacuated more than 7,800 people from north of the Nicaraguan border after four rivers overflowed from rain brought by Beta.

The national soccer league suspended all its games. The airports at La Ceiba and Roatan on the coast were operating sporadically due to poor visibility, strong winds and flooding.

Flooding damaged rice, corn and bean fields. High waters also sent snakes out of the jungle into residential areas, although there were no reports of snakebites.

References

External links

Tropical cyclones of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
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