At least four people were reported dead this Sunday in Nicaragua, as a result of Tropical Storm Bonnie, which crossed the south of the country yesterday.
The victims died as a result of the indirect effects of Bonnie, which caused the flooding of rivers throughout Nicaraguan territory, according to official media reports, with access to information from the institutions that make up the National System for the Prevention, Mitigation and Attention of Disasters (Sinapred).
One of the victims, Juan Carlos Alemán Mendoza, 43, died saving the lives of a group of passengers who were inside a bus that was swept away by the current of the Aló Betel river, in a rural area of the municipality of Siuna ( northeast).
In the same municipality, another man, identified as Alberto Flores, died when he tried to cross the Matiz River on his horse. The religious pastor Martín Martínez Gadea had the same fate in the El Toro river, in San José de Bocay (north), and Santiago López disappeared when he was swept away by the current of the El Rama river.
In Nueva Guinea (southeast), 12 people were injured when the bus they were traveling in left the road, because the rain prevented the driver, Víctor López, from observing a curve, according to witnesses. The driver reportedly went out looking for help and has not been found.
The Rama, one of the largest rivers in Nicaragua that flows into the Caribbean Sea, overflowed over the city of the same name and flooded almost all the streets of the town, according to the images shared by some of its residents.
Other rivers in the Caribbean and Pacific regions of Nicaragua overflowed and caused partial flooding.
The Nicaraguan Aqueduct and Sewer Company (Enacal) reported that some 10,659 families were left without water supply and another 9,316 received “turbid” water, all in the department (province) of Rivas, due to the effects of Bonnie on the wells.
The National Electric Transmission Company (Enatrel) reported the interruption of the electricity service in some 31,828 families, as well as 16 drinking water wells, mainly in the departments of Granada, Masaya, both in the Pacific, the South Caribbean Autonomous Region ( RACS, east), Río San Juan (south) and Rivas (southwest).
Bonnie, who moves over the Pacific Ocean to the south of Mexico, crossed Nicaragua between last Friday night and Saturday morning.
The Nicaraguan authorities, who carried out evacuations and suspended the sailings, reported the fall of trees due to Bonnie’s 65 kilometers per hour winds, and warned that they will issue a damage report tomorrow.
Nicaragua maintains the green and yellow alerts established on Friday, hours before the impact of Bonnie.