Residents crowd around an overflowing river in San Pedro Sula, northern Honduras on Wednesday afternoon (November 18) after Hurricane Iota battered the region leaving more than 50,000 people in evacuation shelters.

Hurricane Iota had earlier made landfall in Nicaragua on Monday evening before causing more damage as it moved to El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua and Belize.

Many properties in Nicaragua and Honduras have lost access to electricity and phone services.

The storm, which brought strong wind and heavy rain leading to floods, has reportedly killed at least 26 people across the region as of November 18.

Iota still lingers over the region and is disappearing quickly with wind speed at 40 mph according to the US National Hurricane Center advisory.

Hurricane Eta had earlier caused severe destruction, killing more than 182 people and left 116 missing across Central America.