Storm Eta death kills dozens in hard-hit Honduras

Eta left a trail of destruction through Honduras and Guatemala, eventually weakening to a tropical storm after making landfall in Nicaragua.

People salvage belongings in the streets of in Planeta, municipality of La Lima, in the Honduran department of Cortes, on November 9, 2020
AFP

People salvage belongings in the streets of in Planeta, municipality of La Lima, in the Honduran department of Cortes, on November 9, 2020

At least 57 people have died and eight others are missing in Honduras following Tropical Storm Eta. 

Honduran authorities said on Monday that the death toll had doubled in the country worst hit by the storm.

Eta slammed into Central America last week as a Category 4 hurricane, leaving over 200 people across the region dead or missing.

Honduras was one of the worst affected, with swathes of the country now under water and authorities having reported 23 dead earlier on Sunday.

READ MORE: Eta makes landfall on Cuba as Guatemala searches for victims

Two major rivers overflowed in Honduras' Sula Valley economic heartland, causing widespread flooding and trapping tens of thousands of people.

Eight people remain missing, according to the country's emergency authority COPECO. 

President Juan Orlando Hernandez thanked US soldiers from a joint task force based in Palmerola in the center of the country, as well as neighboring El Salvador, for their help in assisting the victims.

READ MORE: Tropical Storm Eta lashes cities in state of Florida

A 21-strong rescue team from El Salvador arrived on Saturday as part of the relief operation. 

A convoy of around 60 additional vehicles arrived from the country on Monday, carrying food and other supplies to help hurricane victims and teams of rescue workers and doctors.

Eta left a trail of destruction through Honduras and Guatemala, eventually weakening to a tropical storm after making landfall in Nicaragua on Tuesday.

El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba and Mexico have suffered varying degrees of damage from the storm, which swept into Florida on Monday with strong winds and heavy rain.

The country with the highest death toll so far is Guatemala, where around 150 people are dead or missing. 

Torrential rain and a bitter cold front linked to the storm have also claimed at least 20 lives in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

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