Salvador Flood Toll Tops 120

Severe flooding has killed at least 124 people in El Salvador after heavy rains soaked the country. The government declared a state of emergency as the search for more victims went on.

The BBC:

President Mauricio Funes has declared a national emergency, describing the damage as “incalculable”.

The capital San Salvador and central San Vicente province were hardest hit.

Mud and boulders buried homes and cars in the small town of Verapaz, where rescuers dug into the night—some with their bare hands—to find survivors.

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flickr.com / Mauro Arias

Tropical rains routinely cause flooding in El Salvador, as shown in this 2005 photo taken near Lake Ilopongo.