Tropical storm Agatha kills 46 in Central America

May 31st, 2010 - 4:01 am ICT by BNO News  

GUATEMALA CITY (BNO NEWS) — Floods and mudslides from tropical storm Agatha, the first of the 2010 Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season, continued on Sunday, killing at least 46 people in Guatemala and El Salvador, officials said.

According to Guatemalan emergency officials floods associated with Agatha killed 40 people. At least 24 people are missing following several landslides. The storm damaged at least 2,912 homes, forcing the evacuation of more than 74,000 people.

In El Salvador, emergency officials said that five people died in the Sonsonate region, including a girl killed by a lightning strike. Another man died in the Cuscatlan region. At least three people are reported missing.

Agatha was dissipating on Sunday over western Guatemala. Its remnants were located at 5:00 p.m. ET about 110 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Tapachula, a city in the Mexican state of Chiapas bordering with Guatemala.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, winds associated with the remnants of Agatha will continue to decrease on Sunday, but were expected to deliver 20 to 50 centimeters (10 to 20 inches) of rain over southeastern Mexico, Guatemala and parts of El Salvador, creating the possibility of “life-threatening flash floods and mudslides”.

Agatha is the first tropical storm of the 2010 Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season.

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