Central America storm kills 86, more victims feared

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – The remnants of Tropical  Storm Agatha dumped more rain across Central America yesterday  after killing at least 86 people in the region, sparking fears  of further mudslides in three countries.

Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane  season, slammed into the Guatemalan coast near the border with  Mexico on Saturday.

At least 74 people were confirmed dead in Guatemala and the  authorities were investigating 20 other reports of fatalities,  emergency services spokesman David de Leon said.

More than 74,000 people have fled their homes.

At least 14 people were believed dead in the town of San  Antonio Palopo, 90 miles (160 km) southeast of the capital,  Guatemala City, after a huge mudslide engulfed an entire  neighborhood.

“There was a mudslide that wiped out homes, trees and  everything in its path,” said a man who gave his name on local  radio as Luis.

“We have found 14 bodies and we think there are another  eight to 10 beneath the mud.”

Rescue workers scrambled to restore communications to towns  and villages cut off by landslides where other victims were  feared.

The intense rainfall has sparked concern over the condition  of the coffee crop in Guatemala, the region’s biggest producer,  as well as in El Salvador, where the rains fell heaviest in the  principal coffee-growing region.

The storm dissipated overnight as it crossed the western  mountains of Guatemala but emergency workers warned residents  to expect heavy rain for several more days.

Swollen rivers burst their banks and mudslides buried homes  in towns and cities alike. A highway bridge near Guatemala City  was swept away by the floodwaters and sinkholes opened up in  the capital where many neighborhoods remained without  electricity.

More than 3 feet (1 metre) of rain fell in parts of  Guatemala, said President Alvaro Colom.

“Many places are cut off but it appears the weather will  improve a bit today and we will be able to airlift supplies to  those places. The road network is badly damaged,” Colom said at  a news conference.

Nine people were killed in neighboring El Salvador and more  than 8,000 were in shelters, President Mauricio Funes said.

Three people were reported killed in Honduras, including a  woman electrocuted as she was being evacuated from her flooded  home. Officials warned of possible mudslides from saturated  hills.

DAMAGE TO COFFEE UNKNOWN

Central America is vulnerable to heavy rains due to  mountainous terrain and poor communications in rural areas.  Last November’s Hurricane Ida caused flooding and mudslides  that killed at least 150 people as it moved past the region.

Guatemalan officials warned the flooding from the storm  could be worsened by ash spewing out of the Pacaya volcano that  has blocked drainage systems.

The volcano, which erupted on Thursday, had already closed  the country’s main international airport and aviation officials  do not expect to finish cleaning ash and debris off the tarmac  until at least Tuesday.

The volcano remained active yesterday but the intensity of  the eruption appeared to be diminishing, civil defense  officials said.

Pacaya has been active since the 1960s but had not ejected  rocks and ash since 1998.

The volcano, 25 miles (40 km) south of Guatemala City, is  close to some of Guatemala’s most prized coffee plantations.

Coffee farms around the volcano reported some damage to  plants but other areas were still out of contact, a spokeswoman  for Anacafe, the national coffee association said.

“There is some defoliation and some of the beans have been  damaged, but right now we are still working to determine the  effect on the crop,” Anacafe’s Nancy Mendez told Reuters.

El Salvador’s national coffee associations said poor  communications had so far left it unable to determine the  extent of any damage to crops.