Thursday, November 5, 2009

Newly born Hurricane Ida has ripped into Nicaragua's Atlantic coast, destroying several dozen homes and forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.

Ida, with winds of 75 mph, struck land around sunrise about 60 miles northeast of Bluefields. Nicaragua's National Civil Defense director says about 80% of the homes in a nearby fishing village were destroyed.

No deaths or injuries have been reported but officials are still trying to get information from the region, where the storm knocked out power and telephone service.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Ida was moving to the northwest at 6 mph and could dump as much as 20 inches of rain in parts as it crosses eastern Nicaragua, with the risk of flash floods and mudslides. The storm could also raise coastal water levels by as much as 3 feet above ground level, with dangerous waves.