MANAGUA (Xinhua) -- A tornado whipped Nicaragua's city of Tipitapa, affecting some 2,000 people and destroying 411 houses, said the country's army civil defense chief on Tuesday.

The tornado, which occurred on Monday, stormed a number of districts with the town of Marvin Salazar most affected, said General Oscar Perezcassar.
The civil defense has sent to the affected areas 500 hammocks, food that can last 15 days and materials for setting up tents, he added.
Meanwhile, heavy rains accompanied by hail, tornados and storms have afflicted some northern municipalities since Thursday, cutting off electricity supply and forcing many families to stay in shelters.
In Ecuador, a tropical storm whipped its coastal province of Manabi, southwest of Quito, killing at least one person, the National Secretariat of Risk Management (SNGR) said on Tuesday.
According to official data, so far this year, such disasters as storms and tornadoes in Ecuador have left 30 people dead, 19 injured, six missing, affecting 34,415 people and damaging 2,203 houses.