Tropical storm Julia strengthens into hurricane

Tropical storm Julia strengthened into a hurricane late Saturday as it approached the eastern coast of Central America, Report informs via DW.

It passed the Colombian island San Andres and was moving toward the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kilometers per hour), the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

"Life-threatening flash floods and mudslides possible from heavy rains over Central America and Southern Mexico through early next week," the NHC said.

Julia is classified as a Category 1 storm, on the low side of the five-tier Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

As the hurricane approached, Nicaragua evacuated some 6,000 people in the Laguna de Perlas area, in the Miskito keys located off the coast, and in other zones.

In Bluefields, one of the Nicaraguan towns expected to be affected, fisherman were seen safeguarding their boats. Locals rushed to ATMs and stocked up on essentials.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he hoped "the damage would be less than last time," referring to the destruction from Hurricane Iota in 2020. He has called on hotel chains to "open their doors for shelter."

Julia is expected to weaken after making landfall in Nicaragua, before moving north towards the coasts of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala on Sunday and Monday, forecasts said.