Deadly Tropical Storm Amanda hits El Salvador, Guatemala

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. | Above: Rain clouds hover over mountains during tropical storm Amanda in Barberena, eastern Guatemala, Sunday, May 31, 2020.

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.

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. | Above: Trash dragged by a river is seen on a street after Tropical Storm Amanda, at La Malaga neighborhood, in San Salvador, El Salvador May 31, 2020

"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. | Above: Santa Lucia neighborhood in Ilopango, El Salvador.

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. | Above: Government workers and police officers try to move a car damaged by floods caused by Tropical Storm Amanda, at the Brisas de San Francisco neighbourhood, in San Salvador.

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 neighborhood, officials said. | Above: The roof of a submerged vehicle in seen in the flooded Santa Lucia colony in Ilopango, El Salvador.

El Salvador's Environment Ministry warned residents of the "high probability" of multiple landslides of rocks and debris that could damage buildings and injure or kill people.

Nearly 90 per cent of El Salvador, population 6.6 million, is considered vulnerable to flooding and landslides. In neighboring Guatemala, officials said roads had been blocked by at least five landslides and some flooding was reported, but no evacuations were under way. | Above: A boy carries his dog as he wades through the water in the flooded Santa Lucia colony in Ilopango, El Salvador, during Tropical Storm Amanda, on May 31, 2020. | Above: A woman cleans her house after floods caused by Tropical Storm Amanda, in San Salvador, El Salvador May 31, 2020.

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." | Above: A woman wearing a face mask walks holding a cat during floods caused by Tropical Storm Amanda, in Ilopango, El Salvador May 31, 2020.

View of houses devastated by the overflowing of a creek due to the torrential rains caused by the passage of tropical storm Amanda in San Salvador on May 31, 2020

A woman observes houses from a bridge after they were devastated by the overflowing of a creek due to the torrential rains caused by the passage of tropical storm Amanda in San Salvador on May 31, 2020.

A team of the volunteer stretcher corps takes care of a woman who fainted in an area seriously affected by floods caused by tropical storm Amanda, in Modelo neighbourhood in San Salvador on May 31, 2020.

People try to move a taxi dragged by the water during floods caused by Tropical Storm Amanda at El Modelo neighborhood, in San Salvador, El Salvador May 31, 2020.

A worker tries to recover vehicles dragged by the water during heavy rains caused by the passage of tropical storm Amanda in San Salvador on May 31, 2020.

A woman walks across a bridge over Los Esclavos River during tropical storm Amanda, in Cuilapa, 65km southeast of Guatemala City, on May 31, 2020.