22 Dead, 33,000 Displaced in Nicaragua After Downpour, Incessant Rain
A days-long downpour in Nicaragua has left 22 dead, nine of which were killed in the capital, Managua, when a wall collapsed, BBC reports.
The most recent downpour has been one of many endangering the lives of residents in the region since September.
Emergency crews evacuated families in mudslide zones, who will join thousands who have been kept in shelters for more than one month. The rains have affected 30,000 in Nicaragua.
"We have to evacuate these people and use the police to guarantee that these spaces are not reoccupied," a government spokeswoman told BBC.
But many of the residents in poorer communities, even those that are in danger of floods and mudslides, have chosen to return to the area. They said the shelters are far from urban areas or from where they work, and they are not happy with the isolation.
Humanitarian aid workers have been able to save at least seven people from the collapse, government officials told The Associated Press Friday.
Before the recent rains, at least 120 families from Managua were taken to shelters with an additional 52 joining them this weekend.
By Friday there was a count of 25,000 affected, which increased to 33,00 by the end of the weekend.
El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have also been affected, BBC reported.
The region has been affected by a slew of weather and natural events in the past month. In addition to the rains, the region saw a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in the past week. At the time, rains were anticipated to follow, and fears of complications for clean-up crews were expressed.
Plus, there were concerns following the quake that aftershocks would cause landslides in areas that had already seen several days of heavy rain.
At least 81 people were reported dead following the earthquake, and the Daily Mail reported the quake was even stronger than the U.S. Geological Survey reported, at a 7.6 magnitude.
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