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A minimum of 30 dead as torrential rains lash Central America

At least 30 people have passed away and thousands have been required to leave their homes as storms and heavy rainfall continue to lash Central America, according to local officials, with the continuous rainstorms flooding rivers, damaging homes, triggering landslides and cutting off whole neighborhoods.

Salvadoran authorities on Friday said the death toll had now reached 19, among them six children, while over 3,000 people stay in short-lived shelters.

We must save individuals's lives, Luis Amaya, who heads El Salvador's civil security firm, informed reporters Friday. Product products come and go, now we should focus on protecting lives.

Guatemalan authorities on Friday reported 10 deaths, almost 11,000 people evacuated, near to 380 still in short-term shelters, 300 badly damaged damage and 4 bridges damaged.

Neighboring Honduras on the other hand reported 1 death and over 1,200 people left - some 300 in the last 24 hours. They stated the rains had actually cut off 180 neighborhoods and ruined 22 homes.

In Mexico, authorities anticipate strong rains across most of the country and torrential rainstorms across areas of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, as well as more inland, bringing lightning, strong winds, possible hail and flooding around rivers.

The rains caused authorities to leave some 80 people from a kids's medical facility in Oaxaca state on Thursday, however likewise brought welcome replenishment to drought-hit reservoirs across the country, presently at around a third of their capability.

Mexico's Conagua water authority warned of wind speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour (44 miles per hour) and waves of up 3 meters (10. feet) around the Gulf and Caribbean coasts. Similarly strong winds. on the Pacific side, it added, could cause possible twisters.

The rains were due to a low-pressure channels interacting. together throughout much of the country, in addition to a monsoon trough. attracting wet ocean air from well into the North Pacific, the. U.S. National Typhoon Center said, improved by residues of. Alberto, the Atlantic typhoon season's first named tropical. storm.

Alberto triggered a minimum of 4 deaths as it passed over. north-east Mexico today.

The U.S. National Cyclone Center anticipated the heavy. rains would continue through Friday across southern Mexico. and northern Central America, bringing thunderstorms and showers. as far south as Costa Rica and Panama into the weekend.

(source: Reuters)