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CENTRAL AMERICA |
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91
Die in Heavy Rains in El Salvador
SAN SALVADOR – At least 91 people are dead
and 60 are missing as a result of the
intense rains registered in the past 24
hours in El Salvador which stem from a low
pressure area in the Pacific strengthened by
the passage of Hurricane Ida, the government
announced on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had 91 deaths” in five
of the country’s 14 provinces, Government
Minister Humberto Centeno said at a press
conference he held with his colleagues from
the ministries of defense, health and
environment, among other top officials.
Centeno said that between 6 a.m. and 12 noon
(1200 to 1800 GMT), some 7,000 people had
been taken to 25 shelters established by the
government and 182 other people had been
evacuated.
The provinces affected most by the rains are
San Salvador, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz
and San Vicente, where an “orange alert” was
declared.
In Verapaz, located 48 kilometers (30 miles)
east of the capital, “there is a real
tragedy,” said Centeno, adding that it was
in San Vicente, the province where that town
is located, that 60 people had been reported
missing.
The government minister did not provide,
however, a total figure for people who are
missing nationwide due to the rains.
Emergency management office chief Jorge
Melendez told state-run Radio Nacional El
Salvador that “the effects are dramatic” in
the municipalities of Verapaz, Guadalupe and
San Vicente, the capital of the same-named
province.
“In these three places, there have been
landslides and flooding that have caused
substantial damage,” Melendez said.
Images broadcast by local television’s
Channel 21 show that in Verapaz, mudslides
practically covered several houses and swept
parked cars together into jumbled masses on
the streets.
The downpours, which intensified during the
course of Saturday night and early Sunday
morning, also affected several zones of Sal
Salvador, where – capital Mayor Normal
Quijano told local media – a total of 1,300
people with significant property damage had
been tallied.
The National Service for Territorial
Studies, or SNET, attributed the rains to a
low pressure system located over the Pacific
Ocean that had been intensified by the
passage of Hurricane Ida. SNET also said
that the rains had affected “the rivers in
the central part” of the country, causing
their levels to rise by up to four meters
(13 feet).
According to SNET, “intermittent rain” is
forecast for the rest of Sunday all across
the country, but it will be most intense
along the coasts and in the volcanic region,
although it could diminish on Monday as the
low pressure system dissipates.
Earlier in the day, Melendez had reported
that 54 people had been killed in the rains,
landslides and flooding, basing his figure
on information from the National Civilian
Police, or PNC.
The emergency management office said that
other victims had been reported in the towns
of Ayutuxtepeque, San Marcos and San Miguel.
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