Central America storm kills 38

2005-10-04 08:01

San Salvador - Heavy rains and floods from Tropical Storm Stan hit Central America over the weekend, killing 30 in El Salvador, four in Guatemala, and four in Honduras, authorities said on Monday.

In El Salvador, the driving rain sparked a number of mudslides which led the government to declare a national "red alert," Interior Minister Rene Figueroa said. Roads were cut and flooding was widespread.

In San Marcos, southeast of San Salvador, five members of the same family including three children, died, officials said. Eighteen deaths were reported in the villages of Chaparral, Ateos, and Lourdes, west of the capital.

El Salvador was also on alert for a possible follow-up eruption of its largest volcano, which rumbled to life early on Saturday for the first time in more than a century, killing two.

Mudslide

The Santa Ana or Ilamatepec volcano, located 66km west of the capital, rumbled and belched thick plumes of ash that reached more than 15km into the sky on Saturday morning, forcing more than 2 000 people to evacuate.

In Guatemala, four people died and authorities declared a state of emergency in five departments on the country's southern coast as rivers dotted with isolated villages rapidly rose.

A pregnant woman, her son and nephew died on Sunday when a mudslide buried their house about 250km west of Guatemala City, officials said. Saturday, southeast of the capital, a man drowned after floodwaters swept his vehicle away.

Heavy rain has drenched Honduras for days, killing three children and an adult in various parts of the country according to officials. A boy died when rain caused a wall to collapse, a man was swept away by a swollen river and two children were killed in a mudslide. In addition, a soldier was reported missing when floodwaters carried away his vehicle.

Stan swept westward across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Sunday and entered the Gulf of Mexico. It was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall again early on Wednesday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre said.

- AFP