AlQa'dah 20, 1432, Oct 18, 2011, SPA -- At least 162 people were confirmed dead in Central America Tuesday, local media reported, as flood waters continued to rise after more than a week of torrential rain. Nationwide states of emergency were declared in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in the region, with 154,000 in Guatemala and 133,00 in Nicaragua alone, dpa reported. Seventy-eight people were confirmed dead in Nicaragua, 35 in Guatemala, 32 in El Salvador, 13 in Honduras, and four in Costa Rica. Authorities reported widespread damage to homes and crops, as entire towns were cut off by floods that swept away roads and bridges. More than 6,000 people were evacuated from lakeside districts of the Nicaraguan capital Managua, as Lake Xolotlan rose to dangerous levels. Salvadoran Environment and Natural Resources minister Herman Rosa Chavez said the rain would likely continue until Wednesday.
