Ida drenches Central America

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) - Former Hurricane Ida drenched Central America as a tropical depression on Friday and forecasters said it had some chance of regaining force and heading toward the U.S.

Ida had winds of 75 mph (125 kph) when it hit the central Nicraguan coast on Thursday, but it quickly lost force as it slogged inland and winds were down to about 35 mph (55 kph) Friday morning, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The storm smashed scores of flimsy dwellings and forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes in sparsely populated eastern Nicaragua. Bridges, schools and electrical transmission towers were damaged, but no deaths were reported.

The depression was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) west-southwest of Cabo Gracias a Dios on the coastal border between Nicaragua and Honduras and it was moving north at near 6 mph (10 kph).

The storm was projected to cross over Honduras and emerge into the Caribbean by early Saturday, though forecasters said it might fade before hitting the sea again.

Ida had some chance of regaining force over the Caribbean and grazing the Cancun region of Mexico as a tropical storm by Monday morning on a very tentative track that would then carry it toward the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Forecasters said Ida could dump as much as 20 inches (500 millimeters) of rain on Central America.