Nicaragua's Caribbean coast faced a battering by high winds and heavy rains Friday, as remnants of hurricane Ida wrecked homes and officials warned as many as 40,000 could be affected by the storm.

Despite being downgraded to a tropical depression, heavy rains from Ida swelled rivers, destroying an estimated 530 houses and decimating remote communities in one of Central America's poorest nations.

"They are estimating that 40,000 people will be directly or indirectly affected by the hurricane in preliminary damage projections," Jose Luis Perez, director of the national disaster response corps, told AFP late Thursday.

Nineteen communities are expected to be affected by the storm, which, according to the US National Hurricane Center, was gusting at up to 35 miles (55 kilometers) per hour on Friday.

The NHC warned rains could produce flash floods and mudslides, as Nicaraguans waited for Ida to head north out to sea by Saturday.

One of the first areas affected were the Corn Islands, a tropical paradise popular with backpackers. Around 300 tourists were evacuated from the islands by civil defense forces on Wednesday.