Hurricanes Eta and Iota in Central America

Hurricane Eta on 2 November 2020. Image: NASA WorldView.

A category 4 hurricane, Eta is expected to make landfall in Nicaragua on 3 November. The National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurriance Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States of America is warning that it could became a category 5 hurricane before making landfall. According to NOAA, catastrophic wind damage is expected where Eta's eyewall moves onshore within the Hurricane Warning area (coast of Nicaragua from the Honduras/Nicaragua border to Sandy Bay Sirpi) in the morning of 3 November, with tropical storm conditions in the larger area beginning within the next couple of hours.

Upon the request of the Central American Coordination Center for Natural Disaster Prevention (CEPREDENAC), UN-SPIDER is supporting countries in the region with access to relevant space-based information products. In addition, it is compiling relevant resources on this page to support disaster management officials in the region in preparing for and responding to hurricane Eta.

OrganizationTitleProduct typeLink
European Commission, Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS)EMSR477: Tropical Cyclone in North Caribbean Region, NicaraguaMaps, vector dataURL
European Commission, Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS)EMSR481: Tropical Cyclone Eta in HondurasMaps, vector dataURL
NASA Disasters ProgramNASA Products for Hurricane Eta 2020Maps, imagery, Web Map Services (WMS)URL
Central American Coordination Center for Natural Disaster Prevention (CEPREDENAC)CEPREDENAC PortalWeb GISURL
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)ReliefWeb - Map products, Hurricanes Eta and IotaRepository of products (situational updates, maps, infographics)URL
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT)Latest mapsMaps, Web GISURL
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane CenterHurricane EtaForecasts (wind speed probabilities, arrival time of winds, warnings/cone maps, key messages)URL
European Commission, Copernicus Emergency Management Service (EMS)Global Floods Awareness System (GloFAS)Operational system monitoring and forecasting floods across the world (focuses on rivers, and does not provide real-time forecast information on flash flood risk or coastal flooding, nor on inundated areas.) URL (requires free account)
HazMapper Potential landslide mapping in Google Earth EngineWeb GISURL
MapActionHurricane Eta, November 2020MapsURL