SAN SALVADOR, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The government of El Salvador on Thursday announced the construction of 1,500 temporary houses for the victims of hurricane Ida that left more than 15,000 people homeless and about 200 deaths in the country.

    The shelter houses, each about 30 square meters in area, will be ready in three months, according to El Salvador Housing and Urban Development Minister Edin Martinez.

    The minister said the government would use 2.2 million of the country's emergency budget of 150 million U.S. dollars to finance the construction of these houses.

    Interior Minister Humberto Centento said the authorities are looking for proper places to build the shelter houses.

    Hurricane Ida and accompanying rains swept El Salvador on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, leaving 78 people still unaccounted for.

    The civil protection authorities of the country said that there are 1,487 affected houses, of which 288 are destroyed, 291 damaged and 908 located in high-risk zones.

    Jessica Faieta, UN coordinator in El Salvador, said that between 75,000 and 100,000 people have suffered from direct or indirect impacts of the hurricane.

    International aid agencies and the governments of Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain and the United States have offered humanitarian assistance to El Salvador.