Americas

Home page

Americas

Nearly 150 dead from weekend storm in Central America

01 June 2010 20:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The death toll from Tropical Storm Agatha is growing, with 123 reported killed in Guatemala, 17 in Honduras and nine in El Salvador, APA reports quoting edition.cnn.com website.
At least 90 people are missing in Guatemala and another 69 are injured, the nation’s emergency agency reported late Monday.
The previously reported toll for Guatemala was 92 deaths, 54 people missing and 59 injured.
The previous death total for Honduras was 14. One person remained missing Tuesday, emergency spokesman Gerby Caceres told CNN.
Guatemala also is feeling the effect of the Pacaya volcano, which erupted Thursday night and continued to spew ash Tuesday. Three people were killed when they were crushed by rocks strewn by the volcano.
La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, the nation’s capital, has been closed since Friday because of falling ash but was expected to open later Tuesday.
Pacaya is located about 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of Guatemala City.
Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared a 15-day state of calamity after the volcano eruption. Damage from Tropical Storm Agatha added to the devastation.
Destruction from the storm has been widespread throughout the nation, with mudslides destroying homes and buildings and burying some victims. At least nine rivers had dramatically higher levels and 13 bridges collapsed, the emergency services agency said.
In the northern part of Guatemala City, the downpour created a sinkhole the size of a street intersection. Residents told CNN that a three-story building and a house fell into the hole.
Classes have been canceled this week in schools throughout the nation.
In Honduras, where 14 people have died, President Porfirio Lobo declared a state of emergency Sunday.
Nearly 3,500 people have been evacuated from their homes and nearly 3,300 are living in shelters, the Honduran emergency agency said Monday. More than 140 homes have been destroyed and another 700 have been damaged, the Permanent Commission for Emergencies reported.
The situation in El Salvador was improving, officials said Monday. The rain stopped Sunday afternoon and river levels were beginning to diminish, officials said. Classes nationwide remained canceled, however, until further notice.
Agatha was demoted from a tropical storm to a tropical depression Saturday night and lost its status as a depression Sunday evening.
It was the first named storm for the Pacific hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season started Tuesday.