Tropical storm Nate has killed at least 22 people in Central America as it pummelled the region with heavy rain while heading for the US Gulf Coast where it could strike as a hurricane this weekend.
In Nicaragua, at least 11 people died, seven others were reported missing and thousands had to evacuate homes because of flooding, said the country’s vice president Rosario Murillo.
Emergency officials in Costa Rica reported that at least eight people were killed due to the lashing rain, including two children.
Another 17 people were missing, while more than 7,000 had to take refuge from Nate in shelters, authorities said.
Two youths also drowned in Honduras due to the sudden swell in a river, while a man was killed in a mudslide in El Salvador and another person was missing, emergency services said.
"Sometimes we think we can cross a river and the hardest thing to understand is that we must wait," Mr Murillo told Nicaraguan state radio, warning people to avoid dangerous waters. "It’s better to be late than not to get there at all."
Costa Rica's government declared a state of emergency, closing schools and all other non-essential services.
Highways in the country were closed due to mudslides and power outages were also reported in parts of the country, where authorities deployed more than 3,500 police.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said Nate could produce as much as 51cm in some areas of Nicaragua, where schools were also closed.
Nate is predicted to strengthen into a Category One hurricane by the time it hits the US Gulf Coast on Sunday, a NHC spokesman said.
US officials from Florida to Texas have told residents to prepare for the storm.
A state of emergency has been declared for 29 Florida counties and the city of New Orleans.
