page_title: Hurricane Beta
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Beta
caption_attribution_description: English: Hurricane Beta on October 30, 2005
context_page_description: Hurricane Beta was a compact and intense tropical cyclone that impacted the southwestern Caribbean in late October 2005. Beta was the twenty-fourth tropical storm, fourteenth hurricane, and seventh and final major hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. On October 21, a developing tropical wave entered the eastern Caribbean Sea and spawned Tropical Storm Alpha the following day. As the wave entered the southwestern Caribbean, convection redeveloped and on October 26, the system spawned another low-pressure area which developed into Tropical Depression Twenty-six. The depression intensified into a tropical storm the next morning and was named Beta. By the morning of October 28, the storm intensified into a hurricane, the fourteenth of the season. Beta underwent rapid intensification for several hours to attain its peak intensity with winds of 115 mph on October 30. The storm began to deteriorate before landfall, weakening to Category 2 status as it crossed the Nicaraguan coastline. Rapid weakening followed landfall, and the storm dissipated early the next morning.
context_section_description: Hurricane Beta was a compact and intense tropical cyclone that impacted the southwestern Caribbean in late October 2005. Beta was the twenty-fourth tropical storm, fourteenth hurricane, and seventh and final major hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. On October 21, a developing tropical wave entered the eastern Caribbean Sea and spawned Tropical Storm Alpha the following day. As the wave entered the southwestern Caribbean, convection redeveloped and on October 26, the system spawned another low-pressure area which developed into Tropical Depression Twenty-six. The depression intensified into a tropical storm the next morning and was named Beta. By the morning of October 28, the storm intensified into a hurricane, the fourteenth of the season. Beta underwent rapid intensification for several hours to attain its peak intensity with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) on October 30. The storm began to deteriorate before landfall, weakening to Category 2 status as it crossed the Nicaraguan coastline. Rapid weakening followed landfall, and the storm dissipated early the next morning.
  Due to the storm's proximity to Central America, several countries were placed on alert and began allocating supplies for a potential disaster. Several hurricane watches and warnings were raised for the small Colombian island of Providencia as well as the Nicaragua and Honduras coastlines. An estimated 150,000 people were evacuated from dangerous regions in Nicaragua and more than 125,000 more were evacuated in Honduras.
  As a tropical storm, Beta produced heavy rains over northern Panama, amounting up to 3 inches (76 mm), which caused several mudslides as well as three fatalities. On October 29, the storm passed over Providencia Island, caused significant damage to structures, and injured 30 people. In Honduras and Nicaragua, over 1,000 structures were damaged by the storm, hundreds of which were destroyed. Ten people were initially feared dead after their boat went adrift during the storm. However, a Panamanian vessel rescued the men after drifting in the water for several hours. Rains in Honduras totaled to 21.82 in (554 mm) and 6.39 in (162 mm) in Nicaragua. Six people were killed in Nicaragua as a result of the storm and the cost to repair damages exceeded 300 million córdoba (US$14.5 million). Overall, Beta was responsible for nine fatalities and more than $15.5 million in damage across four countries.
caption: Hurricane Beta at peak intensity prior to landfall in Nicaragua early on October 30
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