Death Toll in Central
America Rains at 21
Three children and a
woman were killed when
their boat capsized in
Honduras, officials said
Sunday, raising to 21
the death toll from days
of torrential rains that
have driven thousands
from their homes across
Central America.
The boat was carrying 20
children and three
adults when it sank
Saturday in the choppy
waters of the Choluteca
River during an
evacuation in the town
of El Chapernal south of
the capital, chief
firefighter Wilfredo
Hernandez said.
The victims were three
children, ages 5 to 14,
and a 23-year-old woman,
he said.
Heavy rains have swept
through Central America
since the middle of the
week, displacing
thousands and prompting
authorities to send the
military to hard-hit
areas.
Police evacuated some
10,000 people in western
Nicaragua on Sunday as
rains caused rivers to
overflow. Guatemalan
officials reported that
1,400 people were
evacuated from townships
near the Mexico border.
In Costa Rica, 14 people
died Thursday when a
hillside collapsed in
the town of Atenas
southwest of San José.
The following day an
87-year-old man was
killed trying to cross a
river in northwest Costa
Rica, and a woman died
when a rock fell on her
car in Acosta.
In El Salvador, a
40-year-old man died
after he was carried
away by a river Friday.
Panamanian authorities
said Sunday two people
were missing.
Costa Rica's
meteorological institute
predicted the heavy
rains would continue
through at least Monday
night. |
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