Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaraguaⓘ), is the largest country in the Central Americanisthmus, bordered by Honduras to the northwest, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Tropical cyclones are common in the country, with an average of one storm a year. The coast is especially subject to destructive tropical storms and hurricanes, particularly from July through October. The high winds and floods, accompanying these storms often cause considerable destruction of property. Hurricanes or heavy rains in the central highlands where agriculture has destroyed much of the natural vegetation also cause considerable crop damage and soil erosion. One of the deadliest hurricanes to hit Nicaragua has been Hurricane Mitch in 1998, in which the storm killed thousands in the country.
1876 - Hurricane Four was a hurricane that effected Central America but mainly Nicaragua, it made landfall in Southern Nicaragua as a Category 2 hurricane.
1911 - Hurricane Four was a hurricane that made landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 2 hurricane and caused over 54 million dollars in damage and 10 fatalities.
1988 - Hurricane Joan–Miriam was one of the worst natural disasters to hit Nicaragua on record. Most of the destruction was in Nicaragua. Throughout the country, 148people perished, 184were badly hurt, and 100were unaccounted for. Roughly 23,300homes were destroyed, with 6,000 being damaged.[2] Many settlements on the Atlantic coast of the country were completely destroyed.[3] In Costa Rica, a total of 55,000 people were evacuated.[4] The national electric company had 620 miles (1,000km) of downed power lines, at the cost of 2.5million USD (1988dollars).[5] A port being constructed with Bulgarian help at El Bluff was severely damaged. On a brighter note, public health measures managed to keep the death toll lower than it could have been.[3]Bluefields was hit with extreme impact. Almost all the 7,500structures in the city were demolished[6] or had their roofs blown off. The majority of the main buildings in the city were destroyed.[2] The hurricane also wreaked havoc on agriculture in the country. Around 15,700head of cattle, 20,000pigs, and 456,000chickens were killed.[2] The hurricane caused severe disruption in most of Nicaragua's remaining rain forests in the areas it hit, and also stripped trees of leaves.[7] In the southeast rain forests, Joan toppled or snapped 80percent of the trees and completely destroyed 500,000 hectares (1,200,000 acres) of canopy.[8] Hurricane Joan caused transportation difficulties in the country. Floodwaters destroyed 30bridges and seriously damaged 36others. Roads totaling 404 miles (650km) in length were washed away.[2] The hurricane destroyed much of the infrastructure in Nicaragua, contributing to a recession that was already underway. The losses to cash crops severely reduced exports to under 200million dollars (1988USD).[5] These factors combined to aggravate a recession and deepen the economic crisis. Government spending to rebuild infrastructure negated recently introduced anti-inflation measures. Hurricane Joan was a partial cause of Nicaraguans being, on average, worse-off than they were in the 1970s.[9] In all, the storm left at least 250,000 people homeless.[6] Total damages in the country amounted to $751.1million.[10]
1993 - Tropical Storm Bret (1993) made landfall in Nicaragua as a moderate tropical storm, causing flooding that left 25villages isolated.[11][12] It also brought heavy rainfall to Nicaragua, destroying 12bridges and disrupting the drainage systems along the regional road network.[12] Only a month later, Tropical Storm Gert hit the same area.
1998 - Hurricane Mitch was also one of the worst natural disasters to hit Nicaragua, claiming the lives of around 3,800 people. It also brought extensive rainfall to Nicaragua, bringing over 25 inches of rain to some coastal areas.[13] As a result of the extensive rainfall, the flank of the Casita Volcano failed and became a lahar. This created a mudslide that would cover an area 10miles (16km) long and 5miles (8km) wide.
2005 - Hurricane Beta was a major hurricane that impacted central Nicaragua and made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane causing over 6 million dollars in damage along with 6 deaths.[14][15]
2016 - Hurricane Otto was a late forming hurricane that effected the southeastern corner of Nicaragua and made landfall over the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve which caused heavy rainfall along with 4 fatalities, the name Otto was retired in 2017.[18][19]
2020 - Hurricane Eta caused massive floods across the country as it made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane that caused over 170 million dollars in damage and affected over 170 million people in Nicaragua alone.[20][21]
2020 - Hurricane Iota hit the country of Nicaragua on November 16, just two weeks after Eta made landfall, as a Category 4 hurricane, sustaining winds of 145mph (233km/h) south of Puerto Cabezas. The Puerto Cabezas airport recorded sustained winds of 83mph (134km/h), with gusts of up to 113mph (182km/h). Damage reports were somewhat limited, due to Hurricane Eta making landfall just two weeks before also causing high damage.[22] Throughout the Storm, over 160,000 houses lost power and around 47,000 lost water services. Also, 35 communities lost telephone services during the hurricane.[23]
