Storm Kills 35 Across Central America
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COLON, El Salvador — Torrential rains and mudslides killed at least 35 people in Central America as collapsing hillsides buried homes and rivers burst their banks, rescue workers said Monday.
El Salvador was hardest hit with at least 23 people killed in mudslides south and west of the capital, San Salvador.
Dozens of Salvadoran soldiers, rescue workers and volunteers pulled the bodies of victims out of the mud in the town of Colon, west of San Salvador.
The government declared a national emergency and, warning of further rains, rushed to evacuate thousands of people. “Sixty-five percent of the country is in danger of landslides,” President Tony Saca said.
The weather was blamed on Tropical Storm Stan, which swept across Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula over the weekend.
In Nicaragua, the bodies of six people washed ashore. Officials suspected their boat had capsized. Mudslides killed at least two people in Honduras. At least four died in Guatemala.
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