Torrential Rains in El Salvador Kill 13, Hundreds Sheltered

At least 13 people have died in El Salvador due to torrential rains that have lashed Central America's Pacific coast since the weekend, civil protection authorities said, while nearly 900 people are still in temporary shelters.

Civil Protection chief Luis Amaya said the victims, which include children, died as a result of landslides or accidents caused by trees falling onto roads.

The rains have soaked swathes of land across the Pacific coast from southern Mexico down to western Panama. Forecasters have predicted more rain through the week, and warned this could be exacerbated by a storm that is soon forecast to form over the Gulf of Mexico.

Both the Pacific and Atlantic have entered the start of their hurricane seasons. The Atlantic's is forecast to be especially active due to a combination of effects from the La Nina weather pattern and warmer ocean waters.

In El Salvador, the hardest hit country so far, five people died  in a landslide in the western district of Tacuba, in the department of Ahuachapan, Civil defense chief Luis Amaya said.

Those deaths follow two fatalities recorded after a tree and a pole fell on a car that was traveling on a highway in the capital. 

Another four people were killed in flooding and landslides.

Congress approved a state of emergency to facilitate the mobilization of resources.

President Nayib Bukele said on X that he had asked Congress to make a federal holiday to avoid commutes and "reduce the risk of tragedies."

In Guatemala, a 59-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man died in the village of Chacaya, in the western municipality Sacapulas, when they were buried by a collapsed wall, authorities said.

Dozens to hundreds die each year in Central America as the rainy season leaves extensive damage to countries' infrastructure.

Additionally, the death toll from a landslide in Ecuador rose from six to seven people, with 22 others injured, authorities said.