Hurricane Iota strengthened to a "catastrophic" Category 5 hurricane as it barreled toward Central America. It threatens areas devastated by a powerful storm just two weeks ago, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned. Authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of people from coastal areas of Nicaragua and Honduras that are in Iota's immediate path.

The hurricane was packing maximum sustained winds of 160 miles (260 kilometers) per hour with higher gusts recorded. Category 5 hurricanes destroy homes and wreck power supplies with a direct hit and affected areas can be mostly uninhabitable for weeks or months.