TROPICAL STORM BETA BECOMES 23RD NAMED STORM OF 2005

TROPICAL STORM BETA BECOMES 23^RD NAMED STORM OF 2005

GENEVA/ NEW YORK, 27 October (OCHA) -- Tropical Storm Beta formed today in the south-western Caribbean Sea, extending this year’s record of named storms in the Atlantic hurricane season to twenty-three.  Beta is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane and drench Central America with potentially flooding rain.

Beta is expected to produce 10 to 15 inches of rain across western Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.  The outskirts of the hurricane, with its heavy rains, could also affect El Salvador and Guatemala, which have been terribly damaged by two previous hurricanes:  Stan and Wilma.

Early this morning, the storm was located approximately 75 miles south of San Andres Island and about 140 miles east-south-east of Bluefields, Nicaragua.  A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning have been issued for the islands of San Andres and Providencia.  A tropical storm warning has also been issued for the entire Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and adjacent islands.  Heavy rain and strong winds are expected.  According to forecasts, the two most affected countries could be Nicaragua and Honduras.  Beta could hit their respective eastern-coastal areas -- the poorest regions in the two countries.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) regional office in Panama is monitoring the situation and has contacted the United Nations Resident Coordinators in Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala.  The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) system has been alerted and the regional office will decide tomorrow if an UNDAC team should be pre-positioned in Nicaragua to support the United Nations and national emergency organizations.

The formation of tropical storm Beta follows last week’s tropical depression Alpha, which produced heavy rains and flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  In Haiti, Alpha caused 13 deaths and localized flooding in the West, South-West and Grande Anse departments.  Although flood waters have begun to recede, some areas remain inaccessible.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, tel: +1 917 367 5126, mobile: +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, tel: +1 917 367 9262; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, tel: +41 22 917 2653, mobile: +41 79 473 4570.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record