HURRICANE Beta pounded Nicaragua’s east coast with heavy rains and powerful winds last night as thousands sought protection in boarded-up homes or government shelters.

Hurricane Beta roared ashore along Nicaragua’s remote Caribbean coastline today, ripping off roofs, toppling trees, provoking floods, and causing four rivers to overflow in Honduras before weakening to a tropical storm.

Thousands of people in Nicaragua have been evacuated from their homes as Hurricane Beta neared Central America’s Caribbean coast early today, pounding the mainland with heavy rains and high winds.