22/10/2011 01:38
REUTERS - People queue to collect medicine after heavy rains near refuge in Marcovia October 17, 2011. The death toll from torrential rains in Central America over the past week has almost doubled since Saturday, …more with a further 25 lives lost in El Salvador, authorities said on Sunday. Guatemala also reported more dead, bringing its death toll to 28, while the total rose to 13 in Honduras. At least eight people have also died in Nicaragua. No deaths were reported in Costa Rica, though dozens of families have been evacuated. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido (HONDURAS - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT) less
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — A week of heavy rains across Central America have caused landslides, floods and bridge collapses that have left at least 84 people dead, authorities said Monday. Nine others are missing.
El Salvador's director of civil protection, Jorge Melendez, said the rain will continue until at least Wednesday because of the presence of two low pressure systems in the area.
The amount of rain over the last seven days exceeds the cumulative record of Hurricane Mitch, which devastated the region in 1998, killing 11,000 people, Melendez said.
El Salvador and Nicaragua leaders declared natural disasters on Monday.
Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom reached out to congress to speed budget decisions to funnel money for the affected.
In El Salvador, 32 people have been killed because of the rains, while Guatemala added 31 fatalities. Another 13 people were killed in Honduras, and Nicaragua's First Lady and spokesman Rosario Murillo said eight have died in Nicaragua.
The rains have affected about 250,000 people. Thousands of them were staying in shelters.
