Flooding Grips Nicaragua

October is one of the wettest months of the year in Nicaragua, so plenty more rain is expected [Reuters]

Torrential rain has poured across Nicaragua over the past few days, triggering widespread flooding and landslides. 24 people have now been killed by the storms and more than 33,000 more have been made homeless. Nine of those who died were in the capital, Managua, on Thursday night when torrential rain caused a wall to collapse, crushing five homes. Many of those homeless people are now crammed into emergency shelters throughout the country. A number of rivers have overflowed their banks, including the Coco and Prinzapolka, in the east of the country. This has cut off thousands of people, mostly Miskito indigenous people, and the government has provided thousands of food kits to the region. The east coast of the country is one of the wettest parts of Central America. Between 2,500 and 3,750 mm of rain are expected here every year, which is far higher than many places including London, which expects 558mm, and is even more than Mumbai which receives an average of 2430mm. The rainy season in Nicaragua runs from May to November, and October is one of the wettest months of the year, so plenty more rain is expected in the coming weeks. With the ground already saturated, this raises the risk of more landslides, and there is also a concern that the flood water will lead to an increase in mosquito-borne diseases.  http://www.aljazeera.com/weather/2014/10/flooding-grips-nicaragua-201410209410169478.html