In Honduras, six departments are on green alert for the arrival of tropical storm “Richard”, according to authorities of the Permanent Contingency Commission (COPECO).

The green alert is valid for the next 48 hours in the departments of Gracias a Dios, Colón, Atlántida and the Bay Islands, as well as Olancho and El Paraíso, according to the latest bulletin.

Richard is situated about 354 km northeast of Gracias a Dios, with a shift to the south west which could change in the coming days. “Richard” is the seventeenth tropical storm of this hurricane season in the Atlantic, and could become a hurricane this weekend.

During the current hurricane season, 17 storms have formed, including “Richard”, of which nine have become hurricanes. Of all hurricanes that have formed, four of them have reached category four on the Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity. The maximum on the scale is a five.