MANAGUA, (Reuters) – Nicaragua suffered more than $740 million in damage from Hurricanes Eta and Iota, the government said yesterday, as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) promised $1.7 billion in aid for millions of people affected across Central America.
Nearly 44,000 homes experienced total or partial damage in Nicaragua, said Nicaraguan Finance Minister Ivan Acosta, estimating the storms had cost the country $743 million in losses, according to government media site El 19.
Hurricane Eta alone affected some 3 million people in seven Central American countries and caused up to $5.5 billion in damage, the IDB said, citing estimates from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
A spokeswoman said UNOCHA could not confirm the figure and that evaluations were continuing in the field.
Iota’s economic toll had yet to be calculated, said the IDB.
The region was still recovering from deadly flooding and mudslides triggered by Eta when Iota walloped Central America.
