Thousands evacuated as Hurricane Beta sweeps in

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.

At 1am EST (6am irish time), Beta was centred about 120 miles south of Cabo Gracias a Dios and about 55 miles southeast of Puerto Cabezas. There was a chance the storm could increase to a category 3 hurricane before making landfall, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.