Nicaraguans Brace Against Flooding, Rains

Managua, Sept 2 . -Authorities in the Nicaraguan capital took measures to protect the population from the swollen waters of Lake Xolotian, and braced for continued rain.

 Managua is the largest and most important city on the shores of Lake Xolotian, the second-largest in the country after Lake Cocibolca.

Xolotian's level had risen by almost four meters since the rainy season began in May, according to Fidel Moreno, secretary general of the city council.

Flooding has caused the evacuation about 900 residents of the neighborhoods near the lake to shelters, where they were provided with food, medicine, healthcare and other supplies, Moreno told a local television station.

The city government does not rule out that the lake's level could rise as high as 4.25 meters above sea level, which was the case in 1998 when the country was hit by Hurricane Mitch.

The meteorological services of the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies forecast intense rainfall for September and October and probably until November, the first month of the dry season.(Prensa Latina)