SAN SALVADOR, Sept 23 (NNN-Xinhua) — At least seven people died Thursday in El Salvador, including a family of five, after heavy rains caused landslides that toppled homes, the country’s General Directorate of Civil Protection said.
The victims died in two “very unfortunate” events, the director of the National Civil Protection System, Luis Alonso Amaya, told local media.
Two people were killed in the municipality of Panchimalco, in the central department of San Salvador, and three minors and two adults of a family were killed in the municipality of Huizucar, in the central department of La Libertad.
In both cases, rains sparked landslides that led to the collapse of a residence.
Amaya urged local communities to heed instructions and evacuation orders from the National Civil Protection System, saying El Salvador is “a vulnerable country” in which “risk conditions are latent.”
Due to rains, the Central American country has registered 160 landslides from Sept. 1 to 21.
The rains early Thursday that caused the landslides in Panchimalco and Huizucar were linked to the passage of a tropical wave through the region. — NNN-XINHUA
