Hurricane Iota makes landfall on Nicaragua coast as dangerous Category 4 storm

MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- The U.S. Hurricane Center said Iota made landfall Monday night on the Nicaraguan coast as a dangerous Category 4 storm.

The powerful hurricane made landfall on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, threatening catastrophic damage to the same part of Central America already battered by equally strong Hurricane Eta less than two weeks ago.

Iota had intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm during the day on Monday. But the Hurricane Center said it weakened slightly by Monday night to Category 4, with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 kph).

Iota was hitting the Caribbean coasts of Nicaragua and Honduras with torrential rains and strong winds, threatening catastrophic flooding in areas already saturated by Hurricane Eta.