27 dead due to landslides and floods in Central America
Twenty-seven people have died in Central America due to landslides and floods over the past week, mostly in El Salvador, officials said on Friday. They also reported deaths in Guatemala and Honduras, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
El Salvador’s Minister of Environment, Fernando López, stated that heavy rains were caused by a low-pressure system over the Pacific Ocean, with an indirect impact from Tropical Storm Alberto, which caused four deaths in Mexico.
Luis Amaya, head of Civil Protection in El Salvador, said in a television interview, “Unfortunately, the death toll has risen to 19,” including two young girls whose home was swept away by a landslide.
Amaya explained that preventive evacuations were carried out in areas highly susceptible to risk, located at the foot of hills and near rivers that had overflowed.
In neighboring Guatemala, authorities reported seven deaths and announced that floods had damaged roads and bridges.
The Permanent Emergency Commission in Honduras reported one death and damage to more than 200 homes, affecting 3,500 people.
Rising river levels isolated several areas in southern Honduras near the border with El Salvador, according to an AFP correspondent.
No deaths were reported in Nicaragua, but authorities warned of rising river levels, flooding of homes, and road damage.
