Deadly Tropical Storm Amanda hits El Salvador, Guatemala

Tropical Storm Amanda triggered flash floods, landslides and power outages as it barrelled through El Salvador and Guatemala Sunday, killing 14 people, authorities said, warning of further heavy rain to come.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele declared a 15-day state of emergency to cope with the effects of the storm, which he estimated to have caused $200 million in damage, but which weakened later in the day as it moved into Guatemala.

Amanda, the first named storm of the season in the Pacific, unleashed torrents of floodwater that tossed vehicles around like toys and damaged about 200 homes, the head of the Civil Protection Service William Hernandez said.

The fatalities were all recorded in El Salvador, Interior Minister Mario Duran said, warning that the death toll could rise.

One person is still missing, senior government official Carolina Recinos added.

"We are experiencing an unprecedented situation: one top-level emergency on top of another serious one," San Salvador mayor Ernesto Muyshondt said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.

He added that half of those killed died in the capital, and that 4,200 people had sought refuge in government-run shelters after losing their homes or being forced to leave because they were in high-risk areas.

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-hit southeastern San Salvador, after a nearby river overflowed and destroyed his home.

Another victim, Mariano Ramos, said that at dawn residents of his San Salvador neighborhood were slammed by an avalanche of mud and water. An elderly man died in the area, officials said.

El Salvador's environment ministry warned residents of the "high probability" of multiple landslides that could damage buildings and injure or kill people.

Nearly 90 percent of El Salvador's 6.6 million people are considered vulnerable to flooding and landslides due to its geography.

In neighboring Guatemala, officials said roads had been blocked by at least five landslides and some flooding was reported, but no evacuations were underway.

Even though Amanda weakened to tropical depression status, Guatemalan officials warned that heavy rain would continue, with swollen rivers and possible "landslides affecting highways ... and flooding in coastal areas."

Agence France-Presse

Pence warns Central American leaders on China ties

Washington - US Vice President Mike Pence on yesterday warned Central American nations to be cautious when building relations with China, which has been increasingly active in the region.

Amid mounting tensions between the United States and China, Pence brought up ties with Beijing as he met in Washington with leaders of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras as well as Mexico's foreign secretary.

"I say to each of those nations represented here, on behalf of our administration, as you build commercial partnerships with other nations including China, we urge you to focus on and demand transparency and look after your and our long-term interests," he said.

El Salvador in August recognized Beijing in the latest diplomatic setback for Taiwan, the self-ruling democratic island which China considers to be a renegade province.

Central America has remained the key bastion for Taiwan, with Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua still maintaining ties with Taipei rather than Beijing, which has used its economic muscle and promises of investment to entice governments.


The United States recognizes Beijing but is congressionally bound to ensure Taiwan's defense, with President Donald Trump's administration especially vocal on defending Taiwan diplomatically.

China has also ramped up trade with Latin America as a whole in the Asian power's quest for natural resources, in places commercially outpacing the United States which has rejected foreign influence in the region in a policy dating nearly two centuries.

Pence was meeting with the Central American leaders to stem the flow of undocumented migration into the United States, a key issue for Trump, who rose to power characterizing immigrants as criminals and vowing to build a wall on the southern border.

The vice president asked the Central American leaders to send a message to their citizens that, "If they can't come to the United States legally, they should not come at all."

"As the old saying goes, there's no place like home," Pence said, using the memorable line of Dorothy in the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz."

Pence acknowledged that greater prosperity in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras -- the so-called Northern Triangle -- was vital to encouraging undocumented migrants from making the treacherous path north.

"Your people will stay home if they believe there is a brighter future for them there," he said.

"Today even as countries like China try to expand their influence in the region, the best way to solve these problems, we believe, is to strengthen the bonds between the US and the Northern Triangle and all the nations of our hemisphere, to strengthen the economic ties between our nations."

source: philstar.com

One dead in Central America quake

SAN SALVADOR - Aftershocks rattled Central America on Tuesday after a powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck offshore, killing one person, damaging homes and scaring people into spending the night outside.

The rumble was felt from southern Mexico to Panama when the quake shook the region late Monday, briefly triggering a tsunami alert.

El Salvador was hardest hit, with officials reporting 14 wrecked homes, damage to a hospital and power outages.

"It was strong when it started to rumble, and it would not stop. My family just prayed and asked God for it to stop," Maria Etelvina Deras, a resident of Usulutan, 110 kilometers (68 miles) southeast of San Salvador, told YSKL radio.

In San Miguel, 135 kilometers (84 miles) east of San Salvador, a man was killed when an electrical pylon fell on him, the city's mayor Wilfredo Salgado told the radio station.

Jorge Melendez, El Salvador's civil protection chief, said the damage was still being assessed nationwide.

People slept outdoors in the most affected areas as 11 aftershocks rattled nerves, including a 4.1-magnitude temblor, according to Salvadoran authorities.

"All I could see was that things in the house were moving, and my wife grabbed me and took me out to the courtyard of the house and we waited for it to stop. It was ugly," said Ruben Aguirre in Zacatecoluca, another town southeast of the capital.

At least 17 aftershocks shook Nicaragua, including a 5.0-magnitude earthquake, according to the Nicaraguan Territorial Studies Institute.

In Nicaragua, minor damage was reported in some 2,000 homes made of adobe or wood, while some hospitals were evacuated as a precaution.

The quake hit in the Pacific Ocean, 170 kilometers (105 miles) southeast of the capital San Salvador, at a depth of 70 kilometers (44 miles), the US Geological Survey said.

'Like a rocking boat'
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center quickly issued a warning for coastal areas located within 300 kilometers (190 miles) of the epicenter, but lifted the alert minutes later.

The tremor was felt in the Nicaraguan capital Managua and other cities, prompting people to flee into the street and onto patios while electricity went out momentarily.

"It was like being rocked in a boat," said Lorena Galo, who lives in Managua.

Coastal residents fled their homes but began to return after the danger subsided on Tuesday.

Still, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega declared a preventive state of alert along the coast due to aftershocks and schools were closed nationwide.

Electricity and phone service in some areas of Nicaragua were cut off.

In the port city of Corinto, people fled inland in cars or on foot, Radio Ya reported.

The quake was also felt strongly in Honduras and Guatemala, but there were no reports of casualties or major damage.

A 5.3 magnitude aftershock was felt in Costa Rica.

source: interaksyon.com