Largest country in Central America (5,000,000 people)
Spanish and Indian Ancestry
Named for the Indian chief Nicarao
Cotton and bananas are the leading produce
Winter (rainy season) May to October. Summer (dry season) November
to April.
15% tax rate (IGV)
National currency is the Cordoba (14 C's to the dollar). It
is very apt to fluctuate
90% of the population is nominally Catholic
Current capitol is Managua (since 1851). Leon was the capitol
previously.
The Cathedral of Leon is the largest in Central America
The momtomobo volcano destroyed Old Leon tn the 17th Century
Know as the land of lakes and volcanos, 14 active volcanos pose
a constant threat
Average household income is $450.00 per year
44% of population is under 15 years old
Disaster History
Year
Event
Deaths
Missing
Refugees
1931
Earthquake, Managua is Destroyed
2,000
?
?
1972
Earthquake
10,000
?
?
1988
Hurricane Juana
116
?
?
1992
Tidal Wave
100
?
?
1998
Hurricane Mitch
4,000
7,000
1,000,000
Hurricanes
Throughout the 1900's Nicaragua was subjected to violent
storms and Hurricanes such as Hurricane Juana of 1988 in which 116
people were killed and unknown numbers left missing.
But nothing had prepared the
Nicaraguan people for the horrific power of Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
A massive storm, this weather system lingered off the coast of Nicaragua
for days on end producing intense winds, while dumping torrential
rain upon the country.
These rains soon produced killing mudslides and floods
on a scale never before seen in Nicaragua. To this day the people
of Nicaragua still suffer from the legacy of Hurricane Mitch.
