Latin America storm deaths exceed 150

SAN SALVADOR -- Heavy rains pounded Central America for a fourth day yesterday, pushing rivers over their banks, flooding communities and unleashing at least two deadly mudslides. The region's death toll surpassed 150, authorities said.

Hurricane Stan, which had led to rain storms in Central America, weakened to a depression over the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca yesterday, a day after making landfall along Mexico's Gulf coast. But rains continued in parts of Central America and southern Mexico.

Heavy rains brought flooding and mudslides to 88 communities in Guatemala.

In that country, officials reported 79 people killed and 49 injured. That tally included a mudslide that buried several homes and that killed 15 people near the tourist destination of Lake Atitlan, about 60 miles west of Guatemala City, according to firefighters.

Flooding in scores of Guatemalan communities forced the evacuation of more than 6,000 residents, authorities said.

Almost all of the country's rivers overflowed. Landslides and fallen trees blocked 30 roadways.

Most of the victims were killed in landslides, national disaster agency officials said.

The Guatemalan president, Oscar Berger, called on Congress to declare a national state of emergency. This would allow the government to force evacuations of dangerous areas, to set prices on emergency supplies, and to provide federal coordination of relief efforts to stricken areas.

''But we're only going to do all of this if it is absolutely necessary," Berger said.

In the Salvadoran capital, San Salvador, at least 50 people were killed by four days of mudslides and flooding. More than 16,700 Salvadorans had fled their homes for 167 shelters nationwide.

Among those evacuated were residents of Santa Tecla, outside the capital, San Salvador.

In San Salvador, a strong earthquake caused a massive landslide in January 2001. Officials have worried the mountain running alongside the neighborhood might collapse again with heavy rains or another quake.

Nine people died in in Nicaragua, including six migrants believed to be Ecuadorans killed in a boat wreck. Four deaths were reported in Honduras and one in Costa Rica.

In the Chiapas city of Tapachula, near Mexico's border with Guatemala, three people were killed when an overflowing river roared through the city, also carrying homes of wood and metal, civil protection officials said yesterday. Three other Chiapas residents were confirmed dead, as flooding forced hundreds of evacuations.

President Vicente Fox paid a visit to the area, where heavy rains continued to fall. Later, he said from Mexico City: ''We ask families there in Chiapas to first dedicate all of their attention to protecting their lives, their health and family members."

Tapachula was largely cut off as major highways, roads and bridges were left under water. ''Sadly, we know it's going to keep raining," said the Chiapas governor, Pablo Salaza.

Other Mexican victims included a couple who were killed yesterday in a landslide in Oaxaca, civil protection officials said.

Civil protection authorities in the state of Veracruz, which took a direct hit from the hurricane, reported one death and seven injuries. And witnesses said a man was electrocuted as he helped evacuation efforts in the city of Veracruz.

At least 9,000 people woke up in shelters in Veracruz on Wednesday morning and about 38,000 people had been evacuated from their homes throughout the state, officials said.