El Salvador declares Red Alert for Hurricane Iota

San Salvador, November 16 (RHC)-- The Government of El Salvador has decreed a Red Alert, the highest on its scale of danger, in view of the strengthening of Hurricane Iota to Category 5, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale.  

"A Red Alert has been declared throughout the country, in view of the impact that Hurricane Iota will generate in our country.  It follows our weather forecasts and the indications of the National Commission of Civil Protection," informed the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

The President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, called for social networks to increase their transmissions, the early monitoring of all the zones, the massive deployment of personnel and the preventive evacuations.

"It's better to be alarmists and not complain after we could have done more," said the president on his Twitter account, in which he shared satellite images about the organization of the storm.

Bukele estimated that Iota could be worse than Tropical Storm Eta, which hit Central America last week, leaving more than 200 dead, thousands of victims and millions of dollars in agricultural losses.