Deadly storm batters Central America Skip to main content

Deadly storm batters Central America

Flash flood victim rescued from El Crucero, Nicaragua. 11 Oct 2011 Victims of flash floods in Nicaragua were evacuated by rescue teams
A tropical storm pounding central America has triggered floods and landslides leaving at least 18 people dead, officials say.

In Guatemala at least 13 people were reported killed with four victims in Nicaragua and one in El Salvador.

Guatemala issued a "red alert" and reported at least a dozen landslides on roads and eight badly damaged bridges.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from the path of Tropical Storm 12-E, which swept into the region on Monday.

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said rising water levels in at least 12 rivers were threatening communities.

"I want to send a message to the people to be careful travelling on roads that are likely to collapse and get away from the river banks, because rivers are overflowing," he said, according to the Guatemala Times.

Mr Colom said four people had been electrocuted in floods and others had been swept away in swollen rivers and in landslides.

Guatemalan forecasters warned the heavy rain would last for another 48 hours.
Officials in El Salvador said a 19-year-old woman was buried when a wall collapsed under heavy rain.

They said more than 2,000 people had been evacuated from flooded areas and moved to shelters.

In Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega announced the deaths of four people. Local media said the victims included two children.

The storm is unrelated to former Hurricane Jova that struck the south-western Mexican coast on Tuesday, triggering floods and power cuts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15283869
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