Hurricane Boni: Three dead in El Salvador and Nicaragua

With winds gusting to 130 kilometers per hour and violent gusts, Tropical Storm Bonnie turned into a typhoon Category 1 on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, as announced by the American National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The hurricane passed through Central America and is now located off the Mexican coast in the Pacific Ocean. Earlier, it caused at least three deaths and property damage in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

In El Salvador, the victim was a 24 years old according to first aid services. In Nicaragua, one 40 year old man swept away by the waters as he attempted to cross a swollen river, while a 38 year old died while trying to save other passengers on a bus whose driver tried to cross a swollen river, the military said.

El Salvador: Roads, hospitals and houses flooded

In the Salvador of 6.7 million inhabitants the storm uprooted trees, overflowed rivers, flooded roads, hospitals and homes. Rescue crews searched yesterday, in vain, for a missing man, according to Civil Protection, which clarified that the search will continue today.

Tropical Storm Boni “caused very heavy rains and storms in the coastal zone, the volcanic mountain range and the metropolitan area of ​​San Salvador, with strong gusts of wind and hail in places,” the environment ministry said.

According to Interior Minister Juan Carlos Bidegain, 250 citizens had to be evacuated from their homes in San Salvador.

However, yesterday morning (3/7) the rains weakened in the country of 20,742 square kilometers, where 87% of the territory is vulnerable to floods and landslides, APE-MPE reports, citing Reuters and AFP.

President Naguib Bukele announced via Twitter that schools would not be open today.

Boni, which formed in the Caribbean Sea, made landfall Friday night into Saturday between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Mexico’s weather service warned that there was a possibility of Boni strengthening into a Category 2 hurricane and that severe storms, mudslides, flooding, strong winds and sea waves of up to 5 meters were expected along the Pacific coast.