1st Tropical Storm Soaks C. America
Tropical Storm Alma lashed the coast of Central America with heavy rains on Thursday after becoming the first such storm of the eastern Pacific season.
Authorities issued a tropical storm warning from Costa Rica to El Salvador.
Costa Rican authorities evacuated low-lying areas and set up more than 160 storm shelters after Alma dumped rain over the country for 24 hours. A few highways were blocked by landslides.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and was expected to strengthen before hitting Nicaragua's northwest corner later Thursday. The storm was moving north at 6 mph.
The center predicted it would plow through the southern border region of El Salvador and Honduras early Friday.
Forecasters warn that Alma could dump as much as 20 inches of rain in places.
The eastern Pacific hurricane season began May 15.
© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Authorities issued a tropical storm warning from Costa Rica to El Salvador.
Costa Rican authorities evacuated low-lying areas and set up more than 160 storm shelters after Alma dumped rain over the country for 24 hours. A few highways were blocked by landslides.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph and was expected to strengthen before hitting Nicaragua's northwest corner later Thursday. The storm was moving north at 6 mph.
The center predicted it would plow through the southern border region of El Salvador and Honduras early Friday.
Forecasters warn that Alma could dump as much as 20 inches of rain in places.
The eastern Pacific hurricane season began May 15.
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How long must we sit idly by while our mother continues to suffer from the warming taking place at a feverish pace? How long must our mother suffer before we have proper c02 taxes put into place? How long must the destruction of mother earth take place before we finally put responsible regulations into effect? How long must we wait until we beef up our corn ethanol production? At least Obama wants to cut c02 pollution by 80%; he is definitely our best hope.
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We the people call upon our leaders to implement a comprehensive antiglobal warming strategy at once and work in coordination with state and federal officials; these cyclones and storms continue to worsen and the quicker we stop the warming the sooner we will see these storms cease. We need action now.