The storm made landfall on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua early today near Laguna de Perlas and by 6pm local time its centre was over the Pacific around 220km southeast of El Salvador’s capital, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
It is expected to move north along the coasts of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala yesterday and today, according to the NHC.
About one million residents of Nicaragua’s coastal region lost power and internet due to fallen lines as well as a decision by the government to cut electricity for safety reasons, said vice president Rosario Murillo, according to local media.
The Nicaraguan National Disaster System said in a tweet yesterday that the entire country was under “red alert,” after heavy rains caused multiple rivers to flood.
Guillermo Gonzalez, director of Nicaragua’s disaster system, told a press conference that Julia had not caused any fatalities in the country but that more than 13,000 families had been evacuated, more than 800 houses had been flooded and many roofs had been damaged.
“The event is not over,” Gonzalez said.
The NHC maintained its warning of the “risk of life-threatening flash floods and mudslides across Central America and Southern Mexico” through Tuesday.
Colombian president Gustavo Petro said on social media early yesterday that Julia had left “light damage” in San Andres and Providencia, Colombian islands off the coast of Nicaragua.
In San Andres, heavy winds pulled tin roofs off houses, according to police captain Octavio Gutierrez. On Sunday, streets rang with the sound of handheld saws that police and locals used to clear fallen tree trunks and branches.
In high-risk zones in Honduras, authorities declared a red alert and called on residents to evacuate. Early yesterday, Salvadorans prayed in city plazas after El Salvador president Nayib Bukele declared the day as a “National Day of Prayer,” calling on citizens to “come together to pray and ask for God’s protection.”
As Julia moved north, Guatemala president Alejandro Giammattei said in a press conference late yesterday that the storm had already resulted in three floods and one bridge collapse.