Iota churns inland

More than 40,000 people were in shelters in Nicaragua as the storm swept through the country. After making landfall on Monday as a Category 4 Hurricane, Iota dropped to a tropical storm by midday on Tuesday. The storm passed 25 miles south-southwest of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, flooding homes and rivers. Forecasters said Iota would move across parts of southern Honduras and El Salvador before it dissipates later on Wednesday.

How bad is the damage? Aid agencies have struggled to connect with local contacts. At least 35 towns in Nicaragua's east and north have no phone service, the government said, and the telecommunications ministry said the phone and broadband provider Columbus Networks was offline due to flooding. The storm system is dumping rain on ground still saturated from Eta two weeks ago. Iota is a surprisingly powerful storm so late in the hurricane season, which is set to end officially on Nov. 30.

Dig deeper: Read Kim Henderson’s report about recovery efforts in Louisiana after Hurricane Laura this summer.

Editor's note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.