Nicaragua in state of emergency after hurricane, tremor

By Senabri Silvestre

SANTO DOMINGO, Dom. Rep.

The government of Nicaragua on Thursday decreed a nationwide state of emergency after Hurricane Otto and a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit the Central American nation, triggering a tsunami alert.

The alert was declared and then lifted in Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador, after the tremor struck the Pacific coast at 95 miles (153 kilometers) south-southwest of the port of El Triunfo in El Salvador, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

This happened while the eye of the Category II storm touched the country with sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour (108 mph), leaving rain, winds, and intense waves in its wake. No casualties have been reported.

"We were focused and emergency plans were in place but with an earthquake and a tsunami threat, things changed," said Denis Melendez, the coordinator of the National Risk Management Board, according to The Press newspaper.

The unusual late-season hurricane left Nicaragua and rushed to Costa Rica on Thursday, dealing damage to roads and causing a power outage, but it is expected to downgrade to a tropical storm overnight, with winds of 110 kilometers per hour (68 mph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.