SAN SALVADOR, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Rains caused by hurricane Ida killed at least 91 people in El Salvador, with 60 still missing and 7,000 to be evacuated, the government said, upgrading the green alert to orange in some parts of the country on Sunday.
Salvadorans looks at the damaged roads caused by heavy rains in San Salvador November 8, 2009. The death toll in El Salvador from the rains and flooding provoked in the last hours by hurricane Ida rose on Sunday to 91, El Salvador's Interior Minister Humberto Centeno said. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
The Civil Protection Direction of El Salvador said Sunday that some important highways of the country were blocked due to landslides, causing some towns to be isolated.
The province of San Salvador was most severely damaged and had 61 casualties.
Residents stand in front of bodies of victims killed in hurricane Ida in San Vicente, El Salvador, Nov. 8, 2009.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
El Salvador's authorities raised the green alert to orange in five departments, namely San Salvador, La Libertad, San Vicente, La Paz and Cuscatlan.
Although Ida had weakened to a tropical depression, the rains would continue, El Salvador's National Service of Territorial Studies (SNET) reported Sunday.
During the last days, rain levels had reached about 355 millimeters in San Vicente station, officials said.
According to the SNET, the rivers in the low area from Usulutan to La Libertad in the south of the country rose as high as 4 meters, and strong rains would continue to fall in the country's coastal and volcanic areas.
