Teguchigalpa, (Asian independent) At least eight people have died in Honduras due to tropical storm Eta, currently lashing the central region of the Central American country with heavy rains and wind gusts of 45 km per hour, local authorities said.
On Thursday, the Second Lieutenant of the Fire Department, Carlos Oliva, said four people died in a mudslide, including a mother and her two children, in the Fortaleza district of Tela, a town in Atlantida, and a minor drowned in the village of Paujiles, reports Xinhua news agency.
On Wednesday, a girl drowned in Nueva Frontera in Santa Barbara, and a 37-year-old man drowned in San Manuel, Lempira department.
The first fatality of the storm was reported on Tuesday, when a 12-year-old girl died in a landslide in San Pedro Sula.
At least 437 houses have been damaged or destroyed, and 26 roads damaged, while 31 communities have been cut off by flooding, the Permanent Contingency Commission (Copeco) said.
The government maintains a state of national emergency and red alert as Eta is forecast to pass through the departments of Francisco Morazan and Comayagua, before hitting Santa Barbara.
Around 100,000 people have been left without electricity, and four international airports have been closed.
President Juan Orlando Hernandez described the effects of the storm as “shocking”.
