3 dead, hundreds displaced in El Salvador flooding

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Flooding from intense rains has left three dead, displaced hundreds, damaged bridges and inundated more than 150 homes in El Salvador.

Civil Protection Director Jorge Melendez says that emergency operations centres have been activated in all of the country’s municipalities.

Melendez said Friday that more than 4 inches (10 centimetres) of rain have fallen in the past 24 hours.

Among the dead is a 19-year-old student who was asleep when one of the walls of her home collapsed in the rural Olocuitla township about 15 miles (25 kilometres) southeast of the capital. A 55-year old man died when a tree fell on him and another person drowned trying to cross a swollen river.

Rains are expected to continue through the weekend.