Disasters & Accidents

Tropical storm Amanda kills at least 16, in El Salvador, 7,225 evacuated

San Salvador, Jun 1 (efe-epa).- Casualties due to torrential rain following tropical storm Amanda went up to 16 on Monday, while seven people remain missing and 7,225 have been evacuated to shelters.

According to El Salvador’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), the number of casualties include 12 men and 4 women along with an eight-year-old child.

The Salvadoran authorities facilitated 154 shelters across the country to accommodate 7,225 people of which 4,803 people are in San Salvador while the number of families affected by the storm stands at 24,125.

According to the ministry, there was a high probability of landslides and rock falls across the country along with debris flows which could threaten human lives, infrastructures and roads.

Rains on Monday, according to the ministry, were caused due to effects of the tropical depression after Amanda hit the region.

The ministry recommended the people to take, “precaution and stay informed about th weather forecast to take adequate preventive measures.”

It further stated that the tropical depression, situated south of the Gulf of Mexico and slowly moving towards southwest, will maintain its influence in the Central American region along with high humidity from the Pacific.

“This depression has a high probability of becoming tropical storm Cristobal by the end of the day,” and could result in moderate to torrential rain in the country.

According to meteorologists, there could be 13 to 19 tropical storms between category 6 and 10 and can develop into hurricanes.

Of these storms, category 3 to 6 could be major and can record winds up to 178 kilometers per hour or more.

The authorities have divided their efforts to address the situation concerning the pandemic and the effects of the torrential rain which could lead to a possible rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.

Salvadorans were under mandatory lockdown since Mar. 21, which, according to the head of Medical College Milton Brizuela, has created weariness among the people and along with the need of food and economic necessities, it could lead them to break these measures.

“The population’s need for income and food could result in breaking of this confinement in disorderly manner and it could lead to a fresh outbreak or an increase in the number of cases that could overwhelm our already precarious health system,” the doctor told EFE.

El Salvador has recorded 2,582 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far, of which 1,465 are active, 1,071 have recovered and 1,686 are suspected to be infected. EFE-EPA

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