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Storm Bonnie leaves deadly trail in Central America

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People get trapped during a flash flood caused by heavy rains due to the tropical storm Bonnie, in San Salvador, El Salvador July 2, 2022Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

Roads were flooded in Nicaragua and El Salvador

At least five people have been killed as Tropical Storm Bonnie swept through Central America.

Four died in Nicaragua and one in El Salvador, officials said.

Bonnie, which has since strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane, is expected to move parallel to the coasts of southern Mexico in the coming days, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Meteorologists have warned of life-threatening surf and rip currents.

Bonnie made landfall late on Friday on the Caribbean coast in southern Nicaragua and swept north-west across the country to El Salvador's Pacific coast.

All four of those who died in Nicaragua were swept away by rivers which had been turned into raging torrents by the heavy rains.

One of victims, 43-year-old Juan Carlos Alemán Mendoza, had been rescuing passengers from a local bus which had been washed away by flooding, local media reported.

Tens of thousands of people across Nicaragua were left without power and more than 10,000 homes had no water.

In El Salvador, one young woman was confirmed dead while rescue workers are searching for at least one missing man.

Parts of the country remain under alert for further possible flooding. Schools will stay closed across El Salvador on Monday, President Nayib Bukele announced on Twitter.

In the capital, San Salvador, roads collapsed and cars were swept away.

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

In El Salvador's capital, roads collapsed after heavy rains fell

Bonnie is the third hurricane of the 2022 Eastern North Pacific season, after Hurricane Agatha developed in May and Blas in June, according to the National Hurricane Center.