SAN SALVADOR: Tropical Storm Amanda, the first named storm of the season in the Pacific, killed 10 people as it lashed El Salvador and Guatemala on Sunday amid flooding and power outages.
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency for 15 days to cope with the effects of the storm, which lost strength later in the day as it moved into Guatemala.
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The fatalities were all recorded in El Salvador, senior cabinet official Carolina Recinos said, adding that one person is reported missing.
In the capital, San Salvador, 50 homes were damaged by rain and powerful winds, while 23 vehicles were swallowed by a sinkhole, Mayor Ernesto Muyshondt said.
Flash floods unleashed by Tropical Storm Amanda tossed cars around like toys in several San Salvador neighborhoods. (Photo: AFP/Yuri CORTEZ)
"We are experiencing an unprecedented situation: one top-level emergency on top of another serious one," he said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic in place before the rain hit.
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In some flooded areas, soldiers worked alongside emergency personnel to rescue people.
"We lost everything, we've been left with nowhere to live," said Isidro Gomez, a resident of hard-hid southeastern San Salvador, after a nearby river overflowed and destroyed his home.
Landslides and swollen rivers destroyed homes in working-class neighborhoods of El Salvador's capital San Salvador. (Photo: AFP/Yuri CORTEZ)
Flooding was especially intense in the Santa Lucia neighborhood of Ilopango, El Salvador, where the roof of a vehicle is barely visible in the flood water. (Photo: AFP/MARVIN RECINOS)
Another victim, Mariano Ramos, said that at dawn residents of his San Salvador Read More – Source
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