A young woman died when a wall fell on her home this Thursday, bringing the number of fatalities caused by the explosions to 13. intense rains that have impacted El Salvador since the weekend.
The 14-year-old girl died while she was sleeping in her home in a rural area of the Santo Tomas district, on the southern outskirts of the capital. Her family members were unharmed, according to information from the government’s Civil Protection Directorate.
The rains that have been impacting the Central American country since last Friday reduced their intensity on Wednesday, however, on Thursday they hit the entire national territory with more force.
The government has installed 150 shelters throughout the country, of which 82 are active, providing protection to 2,582 people, including 1,212 minors.
Authorities reported flooded streets in cities and landslides on highways, which caused temporary cuts to vehicle traffic.
According to the observatory of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), the temporary rain is expected to intensify in the coming hours due to the entry of humidity influenced by the possible formation of a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico.
They also warned of the high probability of overflowing of all the country’s rivers, which puts the lives of residents in vulnerable areas at risk, in addition to the destruction of agricultural works and crops.
The report adds that there is a high probability of the occurrence of landslides and rock falls, and debris flows that can cause damage and loss of human life, in addition to damage to infrastructure and prolonged interruptions in road connectivity.
Due to the conditions, the Civil Protection authorities of El Salvador issued a red alert throughout the territory on Sunday and the national Congress declared a state of national emergency for 15 days. The decree empowers institutions to manage funds and channel them in order to mitigate the effects of the emergency. In addition, it enables making acquisitions and promoting purchasing processes necessary to address the situation in an agile manner.
The Minister of Education, Mauricio Pineda, reported at a press conference that classes will continue on Friday in 18 of the 40 municipalities in the country where Civil Protection lowered the alert to orange, because the weather condition has improved. However, the decision to send students to schools rests with the parents, the official said.
Pineda also delegated the departmental and school directors of the 18 municipalities on orange alert to evaluate the state of the schools or their route, and if there is any risk, they can suspend class attendance.
The head of Education reported that, during the emergency due to the rains of recent days, 400 educational centers have some type of damage, in some cases due to falling trees or flooding.
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