Three people killed as deadly Hurricane Bonnie passes over Central America

Three people have been killed as a deadly storm called Hurricane Bonnie struck Central America as it moved from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean on Sunday night.

According to US National Hurricane Center, two of the victims were from Nicaragua while the other victim was from El Salvador who were killed before the hurricane moved towards Mexico.

Authorities in El Salvador said a 24-year-old woman was killed during the storm and rescuers were still searching for a missing man on Sunday, while in Nicaragua, a 40-year-old man was swept away trying to cross a river and a 38-year-old man died trying to rescue passengers from a bus, local media reports.

The tropical Storm Bonnie which was upgraded to a category one hurricane by the National Hurricane Center, has developed in the Atlantic Ocean and moved across a narrow portion of Central America into the Pacific Ocean as a tropical storm, which the centre says is a rare occurrence in the storm-prone area.

Read also:10 dead, 20 missing as Category 2 Hurricane Agatha rages through Mexico

“Hurricane Bonnie had maximum sustained winds of 125 kilometres (80 miles) per hour with higher gusts,” the Center said

“The core of Bonnie is expected to remain south of, but move parallel to, the coast of southern and southwestern Mexico during the next couple of days.

“Swells caused by the hurricane were causing life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” it added in an advisory.

The Mexican meteorological service warned the hurricane could result in intense rains, mudslides, floods, strong wind gusts and ocean waves up to 16 feet (5 metres) along the country’s southern Pacific coast.

Local media reports that in El Salvador and Nicaragua, the storm felled trees and caused widespread flooding, forcing some residents to move to temporary shelters.

“Bonnie generated very heavy rains and thunderstorms in the coastal area, the volcanic mountain range and the San Salvador metropolitan area, with strong gusty winds and hail in some areas,” the El Salvador environment ministry said.
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