Tropical storm Amanda kills 11 in El Salvador

Tropical storm Amanda caused significant destruction in El Salvador, killing 11 people before it weakened into a tropical depression, the government said on Sunday.

Mudslides, floods and bursting rivers led to the fatalities, the civil protection agency said.

Three of the deaths occurred in Granadillas, a district in the town of San Juan Opico, where a family was swept away by raging flood waters.

Fatalities were also reported in the district of San Pedro, in the capital San Salvador, and in Soyapango, La Paz and Nuevo Israel.

At least one person remains missing, the agency said, after the storm inundated some 200 homes and uprooted 100 trees, mainly in the western part of the Central American country.

Authorities have set up 10 shelters for those whose homes were destroyed or damaged.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele declared a nationwide red alert and a 15-day state of emergency to facilitate recovery efforts in the wake of the storm.

Interior Minister Mario Duran said at a press conference the country was facing "a critical situation" sparked by "COVID-19 and now this tropical storm."

Heavy downpours are still expected over the coming hours despite Amanda weakening after making landfall, the Environment Ministry warned.

Xinhua