At least 19 people have died and 900 homes damaged in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, bringing the estimated death toll in Mexico and Central America due to heavy rains to about 200, authorities said on Friday.
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Rains over the past few days have triggered landslides, including 13 that blocked roads, and the overflow of five rivers, the Chiapas civil protection agency said.
Ten bodies were found in a river which goes through the community of Kaomtealhucum II in Chenalho in central Chiapas. The victims had reportedly been swept away by the current some kilometres upstream.
The other nine, among them three children, died in three separate incidents in other communities.
The rains currently hammering southern Mexico are the result of a cold front and tropical depression Eta, which has caused an estimated 180 deaths in Central America.
In Guatemala, some 150 people are believed to have died, the majority in an avalanche, though the toll has not been confirmed, President Alejandro Giammattei said.
There were also around 20 deaths recorded in Honduras, five in Panama, two in Costa Rica and two in Nicaragua.
Australian Associated Press
