Hurricane Eta leaves trail of destruction in Central America

Nicaragua and Honduras bear the brunt as storms cause landslides and flooding, and leave 100 dead

The active north Atlantic hurricane season continued through last week with Hurricane Eta making landfall as a category 4 storm to the south of Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua. The storm weakened as it moved slowly inland towards Honduras through the week. Some areas saw as much as 550mm of rain (22 inches), leading to landslides and flooding. At least 100 people have died as a result.

Spain and Portugal also had some anomalously high rainfall totals last week as low pressure lingered nearby. Eastern Spain was particularly wet with Valencia getting 100mm on 5 November, compared with the November monthly average of just 37mm. Flash flooding followed, leading to the suspension of schools and road closures. Wind and hail also damaged and estimated 8m (7m) worth of crops.