Storm kills 39 in Central America

A woman leaves her home wading through the flooded street on Monday in San Jose, 100km south of Guatemala City. Heavy rains and floods from Tropical Storm Stan hit Central America over the weekend, killing 30 in El Salvador, four in Guatemala, and four in Honduras, authorities said Monday. PHOTO: AFP

In El Salvador, the driving rain sparked a number of mudslides which led the government to declare a national "red alert," Interior Minister Rene Figueroa said. Roads were cut and flooding was widespread.

"Thirty-one people have regretfully died," Figueroa said, adding "we continue to urge people to follow our advisories in order to avoid further tragedies."

In San Marcos, southeast of San Salvador, five members of the same family including three children, died, officials said. Eighteen deaths were reported in the villages of Chaparral, Ateos, and Lourdes, west of the capital.

El Salvador was also on alert for a possible follow-up eruption of its largest volcano, which rumbled to life early Saturday for the first time in more than a century, killing two.