Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Hurricane Eta ravaged parts of Central America this week as a Category 4 storm and led to the deaths of dozens of people and caused widespread damage.
The storm slammed into Honduras late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Deaths, flooding and widespread damage was reported there and Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Officials said more than 300,000 have been displaced.
Eta has since weakened to a tropical depression but forecasters say it will again strengthen into a tropical storm Friday as it moves toward Cuba and the southeastern United States.
Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei said at least 50 people died there, half in a mudslide in Queja. Authorities said almost 100 homes sustained flooding and mudslide damage.
In San Pedro Sula, Honduras, people climbed to roofs to escape fast-rising floodwaters. Water level peaks along the Ulua River was 13 feet higher than it reached in 1998 when Hurricane Mitch arrived.
"The situation is serious, it's shocking and needs to be dealt with professionally, fast," Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez said.
The National Hurricane Center said Friday that rains in parts of Honduras and Nicaragua could total as many as 40 inches.
