Central American countries scrambled on Thursday night to make preparations for the impact of Tropical Storm Sara, with Honduras likely to be the first in the storm's path as it slowly churns from the Caribbean.
Sara is moving west toward the northern coast of Honduras at a speed of 10 mph (16 kph), and is expected to weaken over the next few days, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The NHC expects Sara to provoke "life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides" across Honduras before moving on to Belize on Sunday. The center forecasts accumulated rainfall of 10-20 inches (25-51 cm) over the next few days, with some areas seeing as much as 30 inches.
Through early next week, the tropical storm is expected to hit El Salvador, eastern Guatemala, western Nicaragua, and the southern Mexican state of Quintana Roo, the Miami-based forecaster added, areas that are home to significant coffee production.
Honduras has issued a "red alert" for its northern region, while other countries activated emergency measures to prepare for potentially catastrophic rainfall.
The storm was located 130 miles (209 km) southeast of the island of Guanaja, just off the Honduran coast, on Thursday night.
The tropical storm could remain "semi-stationary" off Honduras' Caribbean coast through Sunday morning, the country's National Risk Management System warned.
After Honduras, Sara will bear down on Guatemala, where local officials asked residents to secure their homes and prepare emergency supplies in the event of evacuation orders.
In Nicaragua, Vice President Rosario Murillo announced that northern coastal areas will feel the brunt of Sara's impact as it makes its away across the country.
(Reporting by Alvaro Murillo in San Jose, Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa, Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City, Gabriela Selser and Raul Cortes in Mexico City; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Nicholas Yong)
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